New Centennial Water Source-Kaliwa Dam Project

The New Centennial Water Source-Kaliwa Dam Project (still referred to with its original acronym, NCWSP) is a proposed water project of the Philippine Government whose main component is the construction of the Kaliwa Low Dam in Tanay, Rizal, as well as a water supply tunnel, and the attendant infrastructure for these structures.

The Kaliwa Low Dam design has a 600 million-liters-a-day (MLD) capacity, and the water supply tunnel has a 2,400-MLD capacity. If and when built, the Kaliwa Low Dam is expected to ease the demand on the Angat Dam, which is currently Manila’s sole water storage facility.^[1]

The project was originally proposed as a bigger, integrated system which included a plan for a second dam, named Laiban dam further upstream. But the government decided to build the in system in stages, so only stage one, involving Kaliwa Low Dam and the water supply tunnel, have been approved.^[2]

Earlier Projects at the Laiban Watershed

Various plans for the construction of a dam in Tanay, Rizal have been proposed since the 1970s, when the Marcos government first decided that the location was a more viable location for a dam than the Marikina River, however, protests against the construction of the dam, called Laiban because Barangay Laiban was chosen as the exact project site, very quickly led to protests from various groups. Foremost among these were indigenous peoples from Central and Southern Luzon, notably the local Remontado Dumagat people, whose ancestral lands would specifically be affected.^[3][4] Environmental and Activist groups later also raised concerns. As a result, construction of the dam has been approved, deferred, stopped, and restarted a number of times in the decades since.^[5]

Project Approval Process

Original Proposal, including Laiban Dam and Power Plant

The roots of the current "New Centennial Water Source Project" can be traced to the Water Security Legacy (WSL) Roadmap proposed by the MWSS in 2012-2016. Based on this document, the MWSS developed plans for "the development of a dam at the Kaliwa River (Laiban Dam), and/or a smaller dam downstream (Kaliwa Low Dam) to maximize water supply, ensure short - and long - term redundancy, and optimize power generation capacities," and in February 2013, the Public Private Partnership Center released a document "sounding out" interested parties.^[6]

In that initial market sounding, this proposal was already thought likely to comprise:^[6]

1. ) Laiban Dam and/or Kaliwa Low Dam;
2. ) Head works and its appurtenant facilities;
3. ) Conveyance structure from the diversion point to the water treatment facility(s);
4. ) Water treatment facility(s); and
5. ) Hydropower facility(s).

In report by Philippine Daily Inquirer reporter Niña Calleja in that same month, MWSS senior deputy administrator Nathaniel Santos indicated that the main difference of the NCWSP from previous plans was that it would involve the construction of two smaller dams at the Kaliwa watershed instead of just the one. A main dam (Laiban Dam) would be built at the upper Kaliwa River in Barangay Laiban, and another regulating dam (Kaliwa Low Dam) further downstream.^[7]

When the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Investment Coordination Committee (ICC) had their October 4, 2013 Joint Cabinet Committee and Technical Board Meeting, however, they suggested that the MWSS to develop the project in stages, allowing for construction on the Kaliwa Low Dam to begin sooner, and for the Laiban Dam components of the project to be funded under a different financial mechanism.^[2][8]

Project Financing

The original integrated project had been proposed by the MWSS under a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) financing scheme. When the Joint Cabinet Committee and Technical Board Meeting of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Investment Coordination Committee (ICC) discussed the project on 4 October 2013, however, they recommended that the MWSS resubmit its proposal with only the Kaliwa Low Dam and water supply tunnel components, and that it be funded using the MWSS' funds or though overseas development assistance.^[8]

Approval of Kaliwa Low Dam Proposal

The project, with its revised scope, was approved at the May 29, 2014 meeting of the NEDA Board, which is chaired by President Benigno Aquino III.^[9]

On July 28, 2014, President Aquino cited Kaliwa dam in his 5th State of the Nation Address as one of the infrastructure projects approved by his administration as part of its drought prevention efforts.^[10]

See also

• Laiban Dam
• Angat Dam
• Wawa Dam
• Chico River Dam Project

References