Manileños will finally have a respite from the incessant flooding affecting the streets of Metro Manila every time heavy rains bombard the city during monsoon season
The World Bank (WB) and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will soon infuse the Philippine government with around P23 billion for the Metro Manila Flood Management Project. Bulk of this amount, or P20 billion, will be spent by the Department of Public Works and Highways to modernize 36 existing pumping stations of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), as well as build 20 additional stations across Manila, Pasay, Taguig, Makati, Malabon, Mandaluyong, San Juan, Pasig, Valenzuela, Quezon City, and Caloocan.
The remaining P3 billion will be allocated to improve the MMDA’s “solid waste collection services, community mobilization and awareness campaigns, incentive-based waste collection, and to purchase more waste collection equipment.”
“With this project, the government is taking an important step in the implementation of the Metro Manila Flood Management Master Plan designed to safely control floods in the national capital region and surrounding areas,” said Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Mark Villar, in a report by Rappler.
The National Housing Authority (NHA) assures it will resettle displaced informal settlers to be affected by the flood control project as the government looks to clear the waterways of refuse and detritus that are often the cause of flooding whenever there’s heavy rains.
The project is slated to start this year and is scheduled to be completed in 2024.
Aside from building new pumping stations, the flood control project also looks to reduce flooding from river systems that run through the metro by building a dam in the Marikina River catchment area, eliminating long-term flooding the flood plain of Laguna de Bay, improving urban drainage and improving flood forecasting, developing early warning systems and community-based flood risk management.
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