CAGAYAN De Oro City — The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) regional office offered on Monday their assistance to Cagayan de Oro City Hall in building their P3.4 billion sewerage treatment facility.

During Monday afternoon’s regular session City Council, DPWH representative Engr. Alexander Generoso Castro and City Local Environment and Natural Resources Office (CLENRO) chief Engr. Armen Cuenca cited the urgency of building the sewerage facility in Barangay Bonbon as mandated under Republic Act 9275 or the Clean Water Act.

“Cagayan de Oro City is one of our beneficiaries for the project’s feasibility study. Our office is in coordination with city hall and the consultants and there’s a need to update the 2018 feasibility study conducted on the project,” Generoso said. Construction of the facility is divided into two phases within a 15-to-16-year period, he said during the presentation.

Based on the feasibility study conducted by Woodfields Consultants Inc. as commissioned by the DPWH, Cagayan de Oro City’s sewerage project to be built near the Bonbon-Macabalan Bridge will be divided into two phases with funding for the initial P2.7 billion to be shared by the national government and City Hall.

About P1.560 billion of the P2.7 billion will be spent to build the conveyance system for the facility consisting of tubing. Generoso said city hall can apply to subsidize the project by passing a local sanitation ordinance and updating their feasibility study. 

“Our regional office will work with city hall for details of an agreement (for the project),” Generoso said.

For his part Engr. Cuenca said he met with representatives of Woodfields Consultants Inc. who agreed to update their feasibility study for the sewerage project. The City Council later agreed to constitute a committee-of-a-whole to conduct oversight on the sewerage project which is projected to be completed in 2032.