World Bank-funded drainage project starts

CABANATUAN CITY – Cabanatueños will have to endure at least one whole year of traffic jams and disruptions in business during the construction of the P300-million World Bank-funded Comprehensive Drainage Project (CDP) of the city government here.

There will be power and water interruptions to give way to the on-going construction works. Public utility vehicles will be re-routed.

But Mayor Julius Cesar Vergara said that the inconvenience that residents will have to endure in the next 14 months is nothing when compared to the benefits once the project has been completed.

"The inconvenience and sacrifice is only temporary. But the progress and development of Cabanatuan will be long-lasting," he said.

Although there was no direct opposition to the project, some residents complain that the project would pose tremendous inconvenience, particularly in areas adjacent to it.

The project, which was part of the master plan formulated by the Vergara administration, calls for the construction of a new drainage system in the city through outfalls.

These outfalls are to be located in barangays Gabaldon, Mabini, Nabao, Ortiz, Parumog, Sanciangco and Zulueta to stretch in 18 barangays covering 291 hectares.

The project was funded by the World Bank and the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) through a soft loan with 13 percent fixed rate interest payable in 15 years.

The construction of the project was set for 14 months but this could be completed sooner if local weather conditions stabilize.

Vergara said that the drainage project is the permanent solution to the perennial flooding in Cabanatuan and could reduce the risks of water-borne diseases because of stagnant waters such as dengue, typhoid fever among others.

He said it will also solve traffic in the city proper because the city roads will be widened and that all water can be available only after passing to a treatment plant.

A statement from the city mayor’s office said the project could mitigate not only flooding problems but also damage to agriculture, livestock, public infrastructure, private property and human lives during past calamities.