TABUK CITY, Kalinga – The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) central office earmarked P150 million for the required feasibility study for the establishment of the Eastern Kalinga growth center, including the construction of the P5.5 billion Chico River megadike, that will serve as one of the economic drivers in the Cordillera.
Rep. Allen Jesse C. Mangaoang said the feasibility study for the region’s growth center is already bidded out by the DPWH central office to ascertain the economic potentials of the area and the amount of government funds needed for the realization of the flagship project being spearheaded by the Regional Development Council (RDC) in the Cordillera.
The 2-term Kalinga lawmaker claimed the 1-year feasibility study is geared towards identifying the possible tourism areas, business center, airport, government center, forest reservations, among others, where the proposed P5.5 billion megadike will serve as the major access to the growth center that is projected to be one of the region’s economic driver once development will start flourishing in the said places.
Earlier, the DPWH identified the 18-kilometer long and 30-meter wide Chico River megadike as one of the agency’s flagship project in the region with an initial project cost of P5.5 billion which will be funded through a multi-year allotment in the next several years.
However, Mangaoang admitted that because of the prevailing crisis triggered by the dreaded Corona virus Disease (COVID) 2019 outbreak, the proposed completion of the megadike before 2022 is unlikely and the same could extend beyond the term of President Rodrigo R. Duterte although there were initial works that had already been implemented over the past several years.
According to him, one of the major goals of the multi-billion Chico River mega dike project is to abate the perennial flooding in the lower barangays of the city and nearby Pinukpuk town and prevent the damages inflicted by the annual floods to the lucrative agricultural industry of the said localities.
Further, Mangaoang disclosed that the megadike will also contribute in the efforts of the national and local governments to significantly reduce public funds reportedly wasted because of unnecessary dredging activities being annually done along the stretch of the region’s major river system so that the funds could be used by local governments for other development projects in their areas of jurisdiction.
“We will try to closely coordinate with the public works department on the latest developments of the proposed feasibility study for the establishment of the Eastern Kalinga growth center so we can monitor the stages where we are in. We do not want unnecessary delays in the implementation of the said project because our region really needs an economic driver outside Baguio City,” Congressman Mangaoang stressed.
The solon is keeping his fingers crossed that the implementation of the project will smoothly proceed so that there will be no prolonged delays in the prosecution of the priority projects that have been identified to stimulate the region’s economy.
By Hent
