Chinese firm mulls P6-B investment in C Luzon dam project via BOT scheme

CABANATUAN CITY – A big Chinese company plans to invest in the construction of a giant dam project in Central Luzon through the build-operate-transfer (BOT) scheme. The project has been on the drawing board for the past 29 years.

The Chinese firm has opened up negotiations with government officials for the construction of the proposed P6-billion Balintingon River Multi-purpose Project (BRMP) which could potentially irrigate 18,800 hectares of agricultural lands in the tri-boundaries of Nueva Ecija, Bulacan and Pampanga.

Fourth district Rep. Rodolfo Antonino (Kampi, Nueva Ecija) told The STAR that negotiations are ongoing with the Chinese firm for the BRMP which could provide the irrigation needs of northern Bulacan and enable the Angat Dam to just supplement the water of the La Mesa Dam which is the prime source of drinking water for the metropolis.

Antonino met the group of Chinese investors during a recent visit to China. He declined to identify the Chinese company pending the conclusion of the negotiations. He said that the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) is involved in the discussions with Chinese officials.

Antonino acknowledged that the BRMP is one of the biggest priorities of government to alleviate the plight of farmers who need irrigation for their farmlands.

Reynaldo Puno, chief of the National Irrigation Administration-Upper Pampanga River Integrated Irrigation Systems (NIA-UPRIIS) District 4 based in Gapan City, said that the BRMP was first conceived under the Irrigation Development Plan for Central Luzon (IDCPL), a reconnaissance study conducted by the NIA and ECI Consultants in 1976.

Under the plan, a 140-meter high rockfill central core dam with a catchment area of 228 square meters is proposed to be built at the proposed project location in Gapan City, 90 kilometers north of Manila traversed by the Philippine-Japan Friendship highway.

Its reservoir will have a storage capacity of up to 572 million cubic meters of water.

A feasibility study conducted by NIA, Electroconsult of Italy and the Italian government showed that the project could irrigate 18,800 hectares using the Sumacbao River, one of the main branches of the Peñaranda River which is a tributary of the Pampanga River.

Apart from the 18,800 hectares, the BRMP has a potential service area of 63,000 hectares covering the towns of Cabiao, Gen. Tinio, Peñaranda, San Isidro and Sta. Rosa and the cities of Cabanatuan and Gapan in Nueva Ecija; San Miguel, San Ildefonso and San Rafael in Bulacan and Arayat in Pampanga.

These consist of the construction of 109 kilometers of main canals, 168 kilometers of lateral and sub-lateral canals, 210 kilometers of drainage channels and access roads to serve an additional 16,200 hectares of lands.

Aside from the dam, also to be built are a powerhouse equipped with two 22-megawatt Frances turbines, a 710-meter long concrete tunnel discharging 1,430 cubic meters of water per second and a 140-meter long diversion weir.

In 2003, Cabinet Undersecretary Renato Diaz, the presidential assistant for North Luzon said the BRMP could pose the solution to the lingering problem of lack of potable water in Metro Manila.

He noted that Metro Manila is suffering from a water crisis since its water is sourced mainly from the La Mesa Dam. Water from the Angat Dam, he said, may be used to augment La Mesa Dam but this services 30,000 hectares of agricultural lands in northern Bulacan.

With the BRMP in place, Diaz said water could irrigate northern Bulacan and relieve the Angat Dam of this function.