PASIG CITY. – The National Economic Development Authority Investment Coordination Committee-Technical Board (ICC-TB) approved Wednesday the estimated ? 800 million Malinao dam upgrading, Rep. Erico B. Aumentado announced yesterday. Aumentado joined the RDC –7 and NIA top officials in justifying the project before the NEDA ICC-TB chaired by Deputy Director General Rolando Tungpalan. The approval could hasten the implementation by the National Irrigation Administration of the project which could double the water storage capacity of Malinao dam from 5 million cubic meters to about 10 million cubic meters as projected by the Korean Waters (K-Waters) which conducted the feasibility study and detailed engineering design. K-Waters also projected that the upgrading would cost about ? 800 million.

The funding, Aumentado said will be provided by the Korean Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) and Import Export Bank with a counterpart fund from the national government of the Philippines. Earlier on, Aumentado secured a 1.0 million US dollar grant from the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) for the feasibility study and detailed engineering design which was won in an international competitive bidding by K-Waters. Ambassador Kyung-Joong Choi helped the then governor in securing the 1.0 million US dollar grant to Bohol and NIA for the Malinao dam upgrading feasibility study and detailed engineering design. The Malinao Dam upgrading can irrigate about 2000 additional hectares of riceland, according to the feasibility study in the towns of Dagohoy, San Miguel, Trinidad, Ubay, Alicia and Pilar.

In justifying the project, Aumentado stressed that the additional irrigated ricelands could help Bohol sustain, if not increase considerably, its rice self-sufficiency which in 2008 and 2009 attained a 113% and 108% rice self-sufficiency, respectively according to the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS). Before that, Bohol was only 81% rice self-sufficient because at that time the mega Bayongan dam project was not yet operational. When asked on the sustainability of the water source from Wahig River the solon told the NEDA ICC-TB that the DENR with funding from the Asian Development Bank will start in 2011 the reforestation of the Wahig and Pamaksalan rivers watershed in order to provide the necessary forest cover to sustain the water flows therein. The reforestation project was also negotiated and approved during the incumbency of Aumentado as the governor of Bohol.

The economic viability of the project with an estimated economic internal rate of return (EIRR) to about 19% was done by NEDA Regional Director Marlene Rodriguez. The project timelines and commitment of NIA for the speedy implementation was undertaken by Regional Manager Modesto Membreve and NIA Deputy Administrator Antonio Grana. It is expected that the Malinao dam upgrading can solve the problem of farmers whose ricelands are not yet served by the Bohol Irrigation Project stages 1 and 2 within their service areas. It could lead also, Aumentado said, to the potential of bringing whatever excess water through a series of dams to the town of Bien Unido where flat lands for rice development are abundantly available. By Henry Halasan