The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
An urban drainage system project costing P96.5 million in Butuan City that is part of Agusan River Basin Flood Control Project has been completed by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
DPWH Region 13 Director Danilo E. Versola reported the completion of the project, which involves a 2.77-kilometer channel excavation, the provision of slope protection with a 2.05- km maintenance road, and the construction of reinforced concrete box culverts barrels.
The Agusan River is the third-largest river basin in the country, with a drainage area of 10.9 square kilometers that flows through several provinces in Mindanao before draining into Butuan Bay, where it overflows during the rainy season, affecting the economic development of the area.
Butuan City is the seat of government offices and the heart of commercial and industrial activities in Region 13 (Caraga). Its major roads and airport also serve as the gateway in Northern Mindanao to tourist attractions in the neighboring provinces, including Surigao del Sur, Misamis Oriental, Cagayan de Oro and Davao.
The project is expected to maximize the economic potential of Butuan City and ineighboring provinces as the city’s production of agricultural yields won’t be at risk of devastation during the rainy season.
Early this year, the DPWH completed the east bank levee, flood wall and west bank levee of the Lower Agusan Development Project-Flood Control Component Stage 1, Phases 1 and 2—which cost P96.5 million—and the Adgaoan River Bank Protection in Barangay Panaganan and Poblacion La Paz, Agusan del Sur, which cost P50.3 million.
Another project, worth P91.4 million, that involves the completion of a flood control dike and construction of floodgate in Mantange Creek in Butuan City is expected to be completed within the year.