ILOILO CITY - Demand for real estate in Iloilo City and the neighboring town of Pavia has increased significantly with the expected mitigation of the flood problem in the area after the completion of a multi-billion flood control project.

Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas said the project helped boost property appraisal with investors optimistic that it will resolve the city's perennial flooding problem.

"Prices (of real property) are picking up," Treñas said at a project briefing of the Department of Public Works and Highways.

The mayor said the flood control project will end the long-running joke that houses in flood-prone subdivisions, especially in Jaro District, are offered for selling at "buy-one-take-one" packages. Pavia town mayor Arcadio Gorriceta said investors have poured in P1 billion for real estate development for the first quarter of this year because of prospects for a flood-free residential properties.

The investment includes the development of a 100-hectare property by Sta. Lucia, Gorriceta said.

The Iloilo Flood Control Project II was created in response to the recurring flooding problem in the city which usually affects around 80 percent of the barangays, three to four times yearly. The P4.26-billion project was part of the recommendations in the master plan and feasibility study conducted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency from 1993 to 1995.

The project was financed by JBIC 25th Yen Loan Package amounting to P2.95 billion and the Philippine government counterpart fund reaching P1.309 billion.

The main component of the project is the construction of the 4.75-kilometer Jaro Floodway at the intersection of the Tigum and Aganan Rivers which will divert flood water coming from Aganan and Tigum Rivers to the Iloilo Strait. A 690-meter floodway is also being constructed in La Paz District.

The project also includes the raising of river banks, stretching of the alignment of rivers, excavation of high water channel and the excavation of connecting river channels to ensure smooth flow of water.

The Stage 1 of the project started in March 2006 and is expected to be completed in September 2009.

The civil works component is 17.83 percent and ahead by their target of 16.73 percent by this month, according to an update report.

Al Fruto, the assistant project manager, said they hope to acquire the right of way by June this year covering around 550 land owners.

Fruto said they have acquired the right of way or permit to work in 85 percent of the work areas. The land-owners were paid from P760-P1,800 per sq m.

Project consultant Kiego Ito said this is a high percentage of workable area compared to other projects.

Around 430 of 531 families affected by the Stage 1 of the project were relocated to sites in Brgys. Buntatala, So-oc and Kasadyahan," Fruto said.

Treñas said the flooding problem seriously affected the city's economy as economic activity comes to a standstill when the city is flooded.

He said the flooding has resulted to tremendous losses and disruption to business activities, including government transactions that were forced to halt because consumers and employees could not leave their homes or pass through the city streets.

Treñas said the resolution of the flooding problem is among the concerns of prospective buyers of the 50-hectare site of the old Iloilo airport.

Bidding for the site is estimated to cost from P500 M to P2 billion.*NPB

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