SHORE PROTECTION. A portion of the Leyte tide embankment project in Tacloban City. Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Mark Villar on Tuesday (Aug. 3, 2021) assured the substantial completion of the PHP9.62 billion seawall before the end of President Rodrigo Duterte’s term next year. (Photo courtesy of DPWH)
TACLOBAN CITY – Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Mark Villar has assured the substantial completion of the PHP9.62 billion Leyte tide embankment project before the end of President Rodrigo Duterte’s term next year.
Construction of the structure designed to shield Leyte coastal communities from destructive waves is in full swing and all issues have been settled, Villar said during a brief interview after project inspection late Tuesday.
“This will protect 33,000 residents from big waves based on a 50-year period. The government prioritized this project so as not to repeat the damaged caused by calamities similar to Super Typhoon Yolanda,” Villar told reporters.
The 43,355-meter project stretches from Diit village in Tacloban to Cabuynan village in Tanauan town.
Sections 1 to 3 are in Tacloban, section 4 are the coastal villages of Tacloban and Palo, section 5 are some areas in Palo and Tanauan, and section 6 in Tanauan town.
In most sections, the four-meter-wide structure is designed as a baywalk and bicycle lane.
It involves the construction of a 30,858-meter flood mitigation structure and a 12,49-meter backwater dike structure.
The project, standing 30 meters from the shoreline, will protect 33.7 square meters area of properties and 33,185 houses and buildings.
As of June 30, the project is already 80.37 percent complete with the release of PHP6.13 billion funds.
Building the four-meter high structure came about after the 2013 storm surges whipped by "Yolanda’s" fierce winds wiped out neighborhoods in Leyte province. (PNA)
