The construction of the Kaliwa Dam in the provinces of Rizal and Quezon is still a go despite recent opposition from several groups, according to the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS).
“…We have already acquired all the permits. We have signed a memorandum of agreement with the IP (indigenous peoples) of Rizal and Quezon. These are separate because they are separate ancestral domains,” said Leonor Cleofas, MWSS administrator, in an interview last week.
Elpidio Vega, MWSS board chair, said a tunnel boring machine will start work this week at the site in General Nakar, Quezon.
Proposed to be constructed in the towns of Teresa and Tanay in Rizal province and General Nakar and Infanta in Quezon province, the Kailua Dam is expected to provide a longer term solution to the water supply issues of Metro Manila.
Based on earlier government pronouncements, Kailua Dam involves the development of a 60-meter tall dam with a riverbed elevation of 100 meters with a reservoir surface area of 291 hectares and a full supply level volume of 57 million cubic meters.
The project costs P12.2 billion of which 85 percent will be funded by China via official development assistance and the remaining 15 percent by the Philippine government.
When typhoon Karding hit the country in October, environmentalists and civic organizations clamored for the protection of the Sierra Madre mountain range and for the cancellation of the construction of Kaliwa Dam saying it may greatly affect the Sierra Madre negatively. -Jed Macapagal
