The government is eyeing to start the $500-million Metro Manila Flood Control Management Project this January following the approval by the boards of the World Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) of the co-financing for the project, the Department of Finance (DOF) said.

Of the total project cost of $500 million, $207.603 million will come from the World Bank, as approved by its board of executive directors on Sept. 28, 2017, the IFG said

The AIIB will provide another $207.603 million, which was approved by its board of directors on Sept. 27, 2017, it added.

The Philippine government, for its part, will provide the remaining $84.794 million.

The Department signed the loan agreements with both WB and AIIB last Dec. 19.

The first phase of the project, which was approved by the Investment Coordination Committee (ICC) and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) in September last year, includes the rehabilitation of 36 pumping stations in Metro Manila and the construction of 20 new ones in Manila, Pasay, Pasig, Mandaluyong, San Juan, Caloocan, Valenzuela and Quezon City.

Many of Metro Manila’s existing pumping stations were built in the 1970s and have become inefficient and underperforming.

The World Bank said in a statement issued last Sept. 28 that floods, particularly during the typhoon season from June to October, were a recurring problem in Metro Manila that cause inundation of roads, exacerbate traffic congestion, and destroy the lives, infrastructure and livelihood of people, especially the poor.

Mara Warwick, World Bank country director for Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines, and Thailand, said recurrent flooding has made life more difficult for the poorest populations who live in low-lying areas, on riverbanks, and in other danger zones.

“When floods occur, the capacity of people to earn a living is constrained, and many can fall back into poverty. Investments that improve flood management helps protect vulnerable communities as well as boost resilience against the impact of climate change,” Warwick said in the World Bank statement.

For his part, Supee Teravaninthorn, director-general for investment operations of AIIB, said the lives of people in metropolitan Manila – especially the poor, women and children – were severely affected by exposure to frequent cyclones and flooding induced by heavy rain.

“The floods disrupt business and commercial activities, causing unnecessary economic costs. Investing in sustainable infrastructure is a key priority for AIIB and we feel this project is a great fit for our first investment in the Philippines,” the World Bank quoted Teravaninthorn as saying in the same statement.

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) will implement the project in close coordination with local governments and key shelter agencies. The project is scheduled to be completed in 2024.

The master plan proposed a set of measures to effectively manage major flood events, which include reducing flooding from river systems that run through the metropolis, by building a dam in the upper Marikina River catchment area in order to reduce peak river flows entering Metro Manila during typhoons and other extreme rainfall events.

Also included are the elimination of long-term flooding in the flood plain of Laguna de Bay, to protect the population living along the shore against high water levels in the lake; improvement of urban drainage, including modernization of Metro Manila’s pumping stations; and improvement of flood forecasting, early warning systems, and community-based flood risk management.

In 2015, the World Bank obtained a $7-million grant from the Australia-World Bank Philippines Development Trust Fund and Policy and Human Resources Development Trust Fund of Japan, to finance studies and designs of other interventions for the next phase of implementation of the master plan.

Last October, Dominguez along with NEDA Secretary Ernesto Pernia updated World Bank chief executive officer Kristalina Georgieva on the status of the ongoing infrastructure projects in the Philippines, in a meeting in Washington D. C.

These include the Metro Manila Flood Management Project and the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit System.