San Jose, Tarlac – – A more than half a century dream of a Tarlaqueño is about to be realized.
This came as the Balog-balog Multi Purpose (BBMP-II) dam in Tarlac is set for ground breaking this Tuesday at Barangay Maamot here.
This was announced by National Irrigation Administration (NIA) administrator Ricardo Visaya yesterday with Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco Jr. to lead the time capsule laying and ground breaking.
According to Tarlac 2nd District congressman Victor Yay, BBMP was first brought out as a “dream” by the late former senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino in 1963.
The BBMP, touted as one of the country’s most expensive dams, will be built at a total cost of P13.37 Billion and is designed to irrigate more than 34,000 hectares of agricultural lands in Tarlac Province and will also produce 43.5 Megawatts of electricity.
The “high rise dam” was about to be realized during the incumbency of the late former president Corazon “Cory” Aquino but was shelved due to the 1990 earthquake and the eruption of the Mt. Pinatubo in 1991 which caused massive mudflows in many parts of Tarlac.
It was “re-launched” during the administration of former president Benigno Aquino III, but “due to insufficient funds”, only the “irrigation canals and appurtenant project components” were funded in 2015.
It was gathered that the BBMP-II design and program of work were finalized during Noynoy Aquino’s term.
“Though Tarlac province ranks 2nd to Nueva Ecija in terms of rice production in Region 3, only 29% of its 114,530 hectares total agricultural lands are irrigated compared to Nueva Ecija’s and Bulacan’s more than 70%. hence, we are correcting this ‘inequity’ on irrigation infrastructure”, said Visaya.
Slated to be constructed is the main dam which has a budget allocation of P7.9 Billion.
The dam construction project was awarded to the joint venture of the Quezon City based ITP Construction and the Chinese firm Guangxi Hydro-Electric Construction Bureau Lmtd. for P5.86 Billion and is expected to be finished in 3 years or in 2020.
“There is an urgent need to uplift the Filipino farmers’ lives and increase agri-production, that is why the BBMP dam was prioritized”, also said the former general Visaya.
The “mega dam”, which has a storage capacity of 560 million cubic meters, is set to increase rice production within Tarlac by 177.5 percent from 126,480 metric tons to 350,980 metric tons which will support at least 23,000 farmers and the rice per capita consumption of the Tarlaqueños.
Once completed, the project will provide year-round irrigation to approximately 34,410 hectares of farmlands in the municipalities of Paniqui, Pura, Ramos, Victoria, Gerona, San Jose, La Paz, Capas, Concepcion, and Tarlac City.
The mega dam is 105.5 meters high with 3 cascading sections each at 25 meters in height and a crest length of 1.4 kilometers.
It has a storage capacity of 560 million cubic meters “which can mitigate flooding in low-lying areas and provide inland fish production for the affected families” and will occupy 28,076 hectares as watershed.
“Part of the BBMP is the construction of 308 kilometers of irrigation service roads, relocation housing for the 970 families to be displaced complete with barangay hall, health and day care centers, and livelihood programs, among others”, added Visaya.
In his recent speech to members of Irrigators Associations, Yap also said, “The province [waited] for many years, for big ticket projects, such as this (BBMP), to answer its need for better rice production. The BBMP will surely improve the lives of our farmers and boost our rice production”.