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MANILA, Philippines — Expect the government’s P560-million floodwater interceptor project in Blumentritt, Manila, which is only about 30 percent done, to be delayed further as the Department of Public Works and Highways has asked for more time to review its engineering plans for the installation of the 3.3-kilometer-long water catchment facility.
Project engineer Edgardo Ramos said the DPWH’s National Capital Region office was “still working on the design stage” of the underground facility at the intersection of Juan Luna and Hermosa streets.
“That was the subject of our April 24 meeting with representatives of Maynilad Water Services,” he told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
About 3.3 kilometers long, six meters wide and three meters deep, a portion of the catchment lies above a Maynilad water pipe in the Blumentritt area.
The project started in July last year but was slowed down and prevented from meeting its 300-day completion target because of right-of-way issues and the presence of underground facilities of utility firms like Maynilad and the Philippine National Railways, among others.
Maynilad corporate communications chief Cherubim Mojica said DPWH engineers had “requested for more time, about five days, to review their engineering options and designs.”
She said Maynilad’s pipe realignment project “remains an option until the DPWH finalizes its engineering plans for its flood interceptor project.”
The water company was forced to cancel its pipe realignment, originally planned during the Holy Week, because a 30-year-old valve was defective and could not be closed to temporarily stop the flow of water.
“With water continuously flowing into our primary line, it became impossible for our contractor to realign a water pipe that would allow the DPWH floodwater interceptor box culvert to cross over the same pipe,” Maynilad said in a statement.
The water utility advised the DPWH about the “unforeseen development” and called for an alternative solution to the engineering problem.
Mojica said there was no schedule yet for the pipe realignment project, and “we’ve pulled out all our heavy equipment form the project site.”
Asked if Maynilad would still resort to service interruptions in parts of Metro Manila and Cavite to give way to its project, Mojica replied: “We need to revisit our engineering plans because of that defective valve. More importantly, we have to consider our customers because doing pipe realignment on a regular week would have a bigger impact on them.”
During the last Holy Week, Maynilad canceled the water service interruptions that were supposedly scheduled from Maundy Thursday to Black Saturday in about 800 barangays in the metropolis and neighboring Cavite province.
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