$4.3B ‘aqua city’ to rise in Bulacan

HAGONOY, Bulacan — A $4.3-billion “aqua city” is set to rise on the coast of this flood prone fishing town in western Bulacan next year.

Dubbed “Save Hagonoy Aquatic Resources & Ecology: A Hagonoy Economic Alleviation Recovery Trust” (Share-A-Heart), the project was proposed by Engineer Rey Espla­nada, the president of the REBC Builders and Development Corp.

Esplanada said his group is willing to invest some  $4.3-billion for the project.

Based on documents obtained by The STAR, a 13-km. long and half-kilometer wide land fill dike will be constructed along Manila Bay , which will be about two kms. away from the coastline of this town. The said landfill dike will also serve as an offshore flood control and development project for this town that usually goes under water during high tide and gets inundated by waist high waters due to back floods coming from the eastern plains of Central Luzon during rainy season.

The reclaimed land fill dike will also have at least 10 floodgates and huge water pumps where water from upland Bulacan and Central Luzon can be released or pumped into the sea specially when it’s raining. Landfill materials will be sourced from sedi­ments on the down stream of the 45-km. long Angat River and from the shallow part of the Hagonoy coastline which will be dredged.

Members of Esplanada’s team said that the dredged coastline of Hagonoy will also serve as fishing ground for small fishermen. Based on proposals, an industrial park will rise on the first three kilometers of the reclaimed area complete with factories, assembly plant and oil depot.   – Dino Balabao