DPWH: Camanava flood project ready for La Niña

MANILA, Philippines - An official of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said yesterday that the Camanava flood control project is close to 99 percent complete and that they would be ready to face the onset of the La Niña phenomenon.

DPWH project leader Macariola Bartolo said the flood project would be able to handle the volume of rainfall that would be brought by the La Niña phenomenon in the next three months.

“We are ready. Even if we have not reached 100 percent completion we have initiated provision maintenance so the areas covered by the project would not submerged in floodwaters, just like in the past,” Bartolo said.

They have to finish the North Catmon drainage in order to fully complete the project.

She also appealed to the local government of Malabon to help clean up local waterways. “There are sections of the local drainage that are clogged and this should be cleaned by the local government… We are coordinating with the officials of Malabon.”

The project would benefit the cities of Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas and Valenzuela. She said all the cities, except Malabon, would be almost flood-free.

Bartolo said the residents of Malabon would notice an improvement – floodwaters in Catmon would now be around one foot deep, compared to around two and half feet deep before.

Bartolo said the project should have been completed by the end of September but the local contractor asked for a one-month extension, or until the end of October.

She cited the continued rains as the cause of delay and the difficulty in transporting the needed equipment because they had to pass through narrow roads.

Bartolo earlier said the project’s completion was delayed for three years, from 2007 to 2010, because their office encountered problems, primarily in the road right of way (RROW) acquisitions. The project began in year 2003.

“We had to deal with informal dwellers of about 8,000 families and some 300 private properties were affected,” she had said.

Bartolo added that underground water, power, and telecommunication lines also caused delays. Their construction work was also hampered by the weather and the release of funds, she said.

Representatives from the Japan International Cooperation Agency are set to inspect the project either on the first week or second week of October.