Tipolo dredging ‘to ease flood woes’

CEBU, Philippines - Dredging of the mouth of Tipolo Creek will start next week, paving the way for the eventual solution to the perennial flooding problem in Tipolo Highway, Mandaue City.

Myrna De la Serna, project engineer, said aside from Tipolo Creek, the dredging on Mandaue side of Mahiga Creek will also commence several weeks from now.

Notice to proceed was issued to BNR Construction and Development Corporation in consortium with PLD Construction on August 27 and works will be completed in 240 calendar days.

De la Serna said for Tipolo Creek, the city has set aside P44.5 million for the dredging of 66,20.035 cubic meters silt.

The project also includes the desilting of portion of Mactan Channel so that cargo vessels where the silts will be deposited can pass through.

According to De la Serna, the budget is good only for certain portion of the creek but additional budget will be allotted to complete the dredging of the whole river stretch.

"Once the ECC (environmental compliance certificate) is issued within two months, we will start the dredging of Mahiga," she said, adding that the Department of Public Works and Highways-Cebu City will also have a dredging project on the same creek and will start ahead of them starting at the mouth of the creek in Mactan Channel.

This was awarded to WTG Construction and Development Corporation for 210 calendar days for a contract amount of P44.5 million. About 59,505 cubic meters will be dredged.

Architect Florentino Nimor Jr., city planning officer, said Mayor Jonas Cortes made the city's sanitary landfill as depository area for the dredged materials where these will be segregated and disposed properly or recycled.

Nimor said the dredging project and the construction of a cross drainage at Tipolo Highway will eventually solve the flooding problem in Barangay Subangdaku.

The newly completed line drainage of DPWH in the area is insufficient since waters from Innodata and that from San Miguel Brewery will meet at the waterway in the area fronting Land Bank, Nimor said.

Since the waterway is altered, runoff waters overflow and could not go straight to the outflow within Cebu Shipyard and then to Tipolo Creek which is heavily silted, he added.

"The mayor is now happy with the present administration of DPWH because both camps sit down before implementing road and drainage projects in the city," Nimor said. —  Flor Z. Perolina (FREEMAN)