Bacolod City – With a goal of making it operational by the end of the year, Bacolod City Mayor Greg Gasataya is pushing the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and Almana Construction and Development Corp. to speed up work on the diversion channel along Burgos Street.
During a joint meeting at the Bacolod City Government Center, officials reached key agreements to accelerate the project, as Gasataya confirmed that issues with the design and equipment are being resolved.
The mayor announced the construction of an inlet and temporary drainage at Mambuloc Creek began yesterday, Wednesday.
According to the plan, the inlet will be finished in two months and new gates will be installed at the outfall as soon as they arrive.
“This is for the welfare of our people and today is a welcome development that we are working together to make the Diversion Channel fully operational,” Gasataya said.
The city government also committed to providing a flap gate and a sluice gate to prevent seawater from flowing back into the channel during high tide. The said move is crucial to help water from the creek and nearby areas drain properly, reducing the risk of flooding while the channel is being built.
Meanwhile, the DPWH has already prepared a detailed engineering plan for the coastline outfall, which the contractor, Almana Construction, will implement.
“The most important thing is to open and make the channel functional as soon as possible because people have been waiting a long time for this project,” he added.
The mayor noted that the national government will handle the pumping station and other engineering needs and added that having a clear timeline will prevent blame and reassure the public that progress is being made.
The diversion channel project, which began in 2023, has a budget of P152 million. (Theresa Mae Dulman via tvds)