STA. BARBARA—Pangasinan could become the leading rice producer in the country if the re-regulating pond just below the San Roque Multi-Purpose Dam in San Manuel town is constructed.

Mayor Reynaldo Velasco said the year-round irrigation water from the re-regulating pond could double the province’s rice production and surpass those of Nueva Ecija and Isabela, currently the top two rice-producing provinces.

But the plans for the construction the re-regulating pond was suspended when the funding agency originally named for it backed out.

It was originally proposed to be financed from a P3 billion loan from the Japanese government through the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) but the latter withdrew its commitment after original oppositors to the San Roque Multi-Purpose Dam waged a vilification campaign against the agency.

However, NIA Regional Director John Celeste said he was informed that Japanese firm Marubeni Corporation, one of the co-owners of the San Roque Power Corporation, is interested to build the project on its own.

The pond is the most expensive component of the Agno River Irrigation Project (AIIP), a separate infrastructure whose construction is now in full swing following an initial P500 million fund from the national government.

The re-regulating pond, to be managed by the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), is capable of irrigating some 71,000 hectares of land in Pangasinan as well as parts of Nueva Ecija and northern Tarlac.

The structure is designed to store water discharged by the San Roque Power Corporation whenever it generates electricity for the Luzon grid.

Velasco said farmers in Sta. Barbara will be able to plant rice twice or thrice a year and Sta. Barbara can become the rice granary of Pangasinan.

Celeste also said the Chinese government has likewise expressed interest in the project.—LM

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