THE NATIONAL Economic Development Authority (NEDA) XI said the completed master plan for flood-control projects in Davao Region remained one of the priorities for the present administration.
Maria Lourdes Lim, NEDA XI regional director, said they will further discuss the master plan featuring the region’s major river basins, as part of the early recovery and rehabilitation of the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.
“We hope that other river basins in the region will be covered by the master plan so that we will have a very scientific basis for addressing this excess water, and also manage our water resources more efficiently,” Lim said.
Lim mentioned engineering interventions on the project proposed include “dredging of the Davao River, particularly the downstream, construction of cisterns or impounding reservoirs for the upstream, and the planned riverbank protection.”
The Department of Public Works and Highways’ (DPWH) Davao City flood control and drainage project, which includes river basin components, was said to be assisted by Japan International Cooperative Agency, and the Asian Development Bank will assist the Tagum-Libuganon river basin project, Lim said.
“With all of this completed master plan, we hope that we have the support of all stakeholders and not just DPWH, there must also be reforestation and non-engineering interventions, as well as information education communication plans,” she said.
Meanwhile, in an interview on Feb. 2, Ednar Dayanghirang, Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) XI regional director, hoped these blueprints should be realized by the agencies immediately.
“They will present the master plan in the first disaster council meeting in the region this March,” Dayanghirang said.
The DPWH is also keen on adopting Japan’s modern flood-control measures to help address flooding in the country.
