QUEZON CITY--- Twenty-nine water supply improvement and expansion projects worth a combined P1.159 billion are currently being undertaken by the government through the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) in the different provinces in Northern and Central Luzon with funding assistance coming mainly from Germany's Kreditanstalt fur Weideraufbau (KFW).

This was learned recently from LWUA Administrator Lorenzo H. Jamora, just back from a week-long visit of the Ilocos region where he addressed the meeting of the regional water districts association, consulted with local government officials headed by Ilocos Norte Governor Ferdinand " Bongbong" Marcos, Jr. in Laoag City and conducted inspection of ongoing projects in various water districts in the Ilocos and Pangasinan.

According to Jamora, of the 29 water projects being pursued by LWUA in the area, five are in the Ilocos worth a combined P336.8 million; seven in Cagayan Valley amounting to P468.6 million; two in the Cordillera costing P122.7 million ; and fifteen in Central Luzon with an aggregate project cost of P230.9 million.

As of the end of the first quarter of the current year, two of the projects have been fully completed, in Urbiztondo, Pangasinan amounting to P10.2 million and in San Jose City in Nueva Ecija worth P15.4 million, Jamora reported. Another ten projects including two funded by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), namely the comprehensive water supply improvement projects of Santiago City, Isabela worth P385 million and Candon, Ilocos Sur (P148.2 million ) are nearing full completion as of the same period. The others, all funded under the KFW package, are in Sanchez-Mira, Cagayan costing P9.3 million; Hermosa (P15.5 million ) and Limay ( P18.6 million, both in Bataan; Cuyapo (P12.6 million), Jaen (P14.9 million), Talugtug (P7.5 million) and San Antonio (P13.5 million), all in Nueva Ecija; and Sta. Ignacia, Tarlac with project cost of P15.6 million.

Undergoing various stage of completion are the projects in Bugallon (P25 million) and Urdaneta City (P151 million), both in Pangasinan; Gonzaga, Cagayan (P17.7 million); Ramon (P19.7 million) and Roxas (P10.4 million), both in Isabela; Diffun (P12.6 million) and Maddela (P13.7 million), both in Quirino; Norzagaray (P17.9 million) and Pandi (P10 million), both in Bulacan; Licab, Nueva Ecija (p14.6 million); Floridablanca (P17 million) and Guagua (P24.7 million), both in Pampanga; and Cabangan and San Antonio, both in Zambales with project cost of P12.8 million and P19.9 million, respectively.

The two projects in the CAR namely the locally-funded Baguio City water supply project worth P111.3 million and the Ifugao project costing P11.4 million are scheduled for construction by the second half of the year yet, Jamora said.

An estimated 100,000 residents in the areas mentioned stand to benefit from the projects in terms of improved access to piped potable water and better water supply pressure and service courtesy of their respective local water districts. c