Yap: Government to start irrigation component of San Roque dam

Yap: Government to start irrigation component of San Roque dam
by Evelyn @ 11:07 am. Filed under News

MANAOAG, PANGASINAN — After a five-year delay, the government will finally be able to begin the construction of the irrigation component of the San Roque multipurpose dam in San Manuel town.

During a visit here on Friday, Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap told farmers’ groups that about P215 million has been included in the agriculture budget next year for the project.

“Will it be finished? I don’t know. Gusto ko pong maging tapat sa inyo (I just want to tell you the truth),” Yap said.

He said his objective now was to have the irrigation project funded even if it meant irrigating only about 7,000 hectares of rice field in Pangasinan province, which, he noted, will already be a big help to farmers.

During its construction stage in the mid-1990s, the $1.2-billion San Roque Multipurpose Dam Project boasted of an irrigation component that could provide water to about 87,000 ha of rice fields in Pangasinan and Tarlac.

The dam was completed in 2002, but minus its irrigation component. Yap said the irrigation project has been approved by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and the Japanese government, which will release the fund through the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).

Inquirer.net