Posted on June 22, 2021
ON Friday, Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu said the dredging activities in one of the three priority sandbars along the Cagayan River is on track and will be completed by July this year.
“We are pressing on to stay on track despite the roadblocks brought about by the onset of the rainy season and the logistical hurdles posed by the coronavirus pandemic. But we are pushing forward to finish clearing the sandbar in Lal-lo, Cagayan by the second or third week of July,” said Cimatu, who is also the chairperson of Task Force Build Back Better.
He said the task force had already dredged 253,743 cubic meters or 74 percent of 44,304 cubic meters that make up the 11.4-hectare sandbar in Lal-lo, Cagayan.
The dredging operations in two other critical sandbars in the constricted portion of Cagayan River, called the Magapit Narrows, is also being fast-tracked, he added.
“We will more than double our current dredging capacity at Lal-lo sandbar from 308 cubic meters per hour to 713 cubic meters at a six-hours-a-day dredging schedule to dredge the remaining 90,558 cubic meters,” Cimatu said.
The Environment chief said the dredging of the sandbar in Barangay Dummun, Gattarran town has already started on June 14, involving an estimated volume of 882,707 cubic meters to be dredged within the projected project period of 170 dredging days.
Meanwhile, the third-priority sandbar is located at Barangay Casicallan Norte, which is also in Gattaran town.
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has already deployed its biggest excavating equipment, according to Cimatu.
He said the DPWH is also planning to deploy up to five more high-capacity dredging equipment to the priority areas along the Cagayan River.
