Contractor given go-signal to start floodway project
The contractor of the Iloilo Flood Control Project has been given the notice to proceed with the construction by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
In an official communication furnished the executive office, DPWH undersecretary Manuel Bonoan informed Jeong Sup Shim, general manager of the Korean-based Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Company, that the notice to proceed for the construction of Package 1 was issued upon the approval of DPWH secretary Hermogenes Ebdane last February 3rd.
Package 1 consists of the construction of the Jaro Floodway and the improvement of the Tigum-Aganan Rivers.
Bonoan also advised Jeong that work should proceed within 28 days of receiving the official notice to proceed.
It can be recalled that there were reports last year indicating that some national projects, including the city's flood control will be scrapped due to budget constraints. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, however, has given firm assurances that the project will not be cancelled and is even a part of her medium term development plan.
Mayor Jerry P. Treñas, who was furnished a copy of Bonoan's letter to the contractor, was happy over this latest development and said that the Ilonggos can finally relax knowing that the project will now be implemented.
Treñas said that as soon as the civil works on the Jaro floodway and improvements on the Tigum-Aganan Rivers start, residents of flood-prone city barangays can begin to relax and look forward to less flood-related problems in the future.
(Eireen Manikan/PIO)