TABUK CITY, Kalinga – Experts from the Department of Public works and Highways (DPWH) central office are now in this city to start the required feasibility study for the preparation of a 5-year master development plan for an 18-kilometer stretch of the Chico River.
Engr. Ireneo S. Gallato, Kalinga District Engineer, said the team is required to complete their study by March in preparation for discussions with Kalinga Rep. Allen Jesse C. Mangaoang for the inclusion of the needed implementation budget of the master development plan.
“We are elated that the much awaited development of the Chico River will be implemented through the consolidated efforts of the involved agencies,” Gallato stressed.
The Kalinga district engineer said the proposed master development plan includes the construction of an airport, the put up of additional tourism facilities to help boost the growth of the province’s tourism industry, the implementation of flood control measures among other sustainable infrastructure projects aside from prohibiting quarrying activities along the river system to mitigate the serious negative effects of flooding to the local agriculture industry.
Gallato is optimistic that the team from the DPWH central office will be able to complete the required feasibility study within the prescribed period to allow concerned agencies to work out the inclusion of the requested funds for the implementation of the related projects in the government’s annual budget for 2018.
According to him, Tabuk City will definitely be one of the region’s centers of trade and commerce because of the vast tracks of lands that are still available for development by prospective investors wanting to put up their businesses in the province.
Gallato expressed his gratitude to Rep. Mangaoang for his all-out support in the formulation of the Chico river master development plan and its subsequent implementation which will engineer the prospective growth potentials of Tabuk City and Kalinga in the next five years making it suitable to become the regional center of the Cordillera in the future.
Earlier, Mangaoang filed in the House of Representatives a bill seeking for the creation of a Chico River Development Authority that will be in charge of overseeing the development thrust of the Chico rivers which starts from Bauko, Mountain Province passing through Kalinga before spilling into the mighty Cagayan river.
Gallato claimed the harmonious working relationship among city, provincial, national officials and officials of concerned government agencies has significantly contributed to the smooth implementation of the priority projects within the province that will contribute in spurring economic activities not only in the component city but also provincewide.
The Chico river is the main source of irrigation water for the over 11,000 hectares of rice farms in Tabuk City and nearby Quezon, Isabela aside from providing a sustainable water supply for lowland communities within the province.
By HENT
