Metro Manila residents can look forward to flood-free rainy days soon. This after as the government plans to start the $500-million Metro Manila Flood Control Management Project this month.
Flood in Metro Manila/cnnphilippines.com
According to the Department of Finance, $207.603 million of the project cost would come from the World Bank, another $200 million would come from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, while the remaining would come from Philippine government.
Many of Metro Manila’s existing pumping stations were built in the 1970s and have become inefficient and under-performing. Thus, the first phase of the project includes the rehabilitation of 36 pumping stations in Metro Manila and the construction of 20 new ones in Manila, Pasay, Pasig, Mandaluyong, San Juan, Caloocan, Valenzuela and Quezon City.
The World Bank said in a statement that floods, particularly during the typhoon season from June to October, were a recurring problem in Metro Manila that caused inundation of roads, exacerbated traffic congestion and destroyed lives, infrastructure and livelihood of people, especially the poor.
Mara Warwick, World Bank country director for Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand, said recurrent flooding made life more difficult for the poorest populations who lived in low-lying areas, on riverbanks and in other danger zones, making sectors, especially the poor, women and children vulnerable.
Ongoing flood-control project in Manila/mmda.gov.ph
To reduce flooding from river systems that run through the metropolis, a dam will be built in the upper Marikina River catchment area. Also included are the elimination of long-term flooding in the flood plain of Laguna de Bay, to protect the population living along the shore against high water levels in the lake; improvement of urban drainage, including modernization of Metro Manila’s pumping stations; and improvement of flood forecasting, early warning systems, and community-based flood risk management.
Aside from the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Metro Manila Development Authority, local governments and key shelter agencies are expected to participate in the project that is scheduled to be completed in 2024.
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