Government officials and a foreign development agency on Sept. 1 turned over the newly constructed Imus Retarding Basin in Imus City to the provincial government of Cavite, with the project expected to help reduce flooding in the area.
The turnover ceremony at the project in Barangay Anabu 1-G was led by Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Vince Dizon, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jonvic Remulla and officials of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which funded the facility’s construction.
Dizon said floods in the area had reached chest level before the facility was built. The DPWH chief said the Imus Retarding Basin would serve as a model for the construction of other retarding basins, including similar facilities that had already been built.
The PHP2.4 billion project was designed to protect Cavite from severe flooding through two off-site retarding basins that temporarily hold flood runoff before gradually releasing it into the Imus River. This was intended to protect downstream communities and reduce damage to infrastructure, agriculture and personal property, as well as prevent loss of lives.
The project was completed in 2023, while the ceremony was held for the turnover of the facility’s operation and maintenance to the local government unit of Imus.
Funded through a JICA loan, the facility covers 35 hectares, roughly equivalent to 49 soccer fields. It can hold up to 1.12 million cubic meters of water, or about 448 Olympic-sized swimming pools.