MMDA, WB execs discuss MM flood control project
METROPOLITAN Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officials, along with representatives from World Bank (WB) and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), conducted meetings and site inspections to assess the status and updates of the MMDA’s activities under the Metro Manila Flood Management Project (MMFMP).
During the 8th Implementation Support Mission (ISM), the project’s development objective was reviewed, including a detailed review of the overall project progress, proposed implementation plans for the project’s remaining phases, and the possibility for loan restructuring.
MMDA Acting Chairman Atty. Romando Artes said the agency is committed to “further intensify efforts and initiatives towards making Metro Manila more resilient to floods, especially since the effects of climate change are getting worse.”
“As we move forward, the MMDA has high hopes for project extension for us to successfully alleviate flood management issues in Metro Manila through the MMFMP’s structural and non-structural interventions, as well as the active participation and commitment of all stakeholders,” Artes said during the wrap-up meeting held on Friday.
MMDA and DPWH, together with officials from WB, also conducted a site inspection late last month at the Solid Waste Granulator (SWG) and Brick Making Facility located at the Vitas Pumping Station in Tondo, Manila. These facilities convert solid waste to by-products such as eco-bricks, eco-hollow blocks, eco-concrete barriers, and bio-waste compost materials.
WB and AIIB, the funding agencies for MMFMP, recognized the progress made by the MMDA on the project activities initiated by the agency, which includes an increased diversion rate of the SWG to 8% from 5% compared to the midterm review conducted last March, wider reach of the mobile materials recovery facility from 10 to 42 barangays thus collecting 97,000 kilograms of waste from last March’s 8,000 kg. and distribution of composting facilities to 32 barangays from three barangays last March.
Ongoing initiatives include a water hyacinth processing plant in Rizal, which is almost complete while pilot pyrolysis equipment was already installed at the Vitas Pumping Station, and the installation of trash traps in selected waterways.
The MMDA likewise completed the 25-year Solid Waste Management master plan that aims to reduce the vulnerability to and resilience against floods of Metro Manila.
The MMDA is in charge of implementing the MMFMP’s Component 2 (Minimizing Solid Waste in Waterways), which aims to improve solid waste management in barangays surrounding the pumping stations that will ultimately help maintain their efficiency, and Component 4 (Project Management and Coordination).
