Ferry service at San Roque Dam reservoir launched
SAN MANUEL—Pangasinan will have a new eco-tourism attraction with the inauguration on Monday of a ferry service across the giant reservoir of the San Roque Multi-Purpose Project (SRMP) the 11th biggest earthen dam in the world.
Former President Fidel V. Ramos, considered as the father of the San Roque Dam, will lead the inauguration together with Governor Amado Espino Jr. and other officials of the province.
The ferry will provide tourists a leisurely ride across the blue water in the giant reservoir located in the upper stream of the Agno River from San Manuel, Pangasinan to Itogon, Benguet.
Sixth District Board Member Ranjit Ramos Shahani, a nephew of Ramos, said the ferry service is long overdue as the water impounded in the dam’s reservoir could have been harnessed much earlier for tourism purposes.
Also to be inaugurated are the newly constructed tennis court and other facilities within SRMP’s eco-tourism pavilion.
Sports fishing is another tourism-oriented activity that can be introduced in the area as the reservoir was earlier stocked with tilapia and other fish species with the help of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.
The inauguration will serve as an advance celebration the 84th birthday of Ramos who served as President from 1992-1998.
It was during Ramos’ incumbency when the billion-dollar Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) project was started.
Meanwhile, Shahani said the water of the facility can be tapped as a source of potable water for 16 lowland municipalities of Pangasinan.
The re-regulating pond, which will catch all the water thrown out while generating electricity for the Luzon Grid, is set to be operational by August this year.
When fully operational, the structure can irrigate some 50,000 hectares of land in eastern and central Pangasinan, and northern Tarlac.
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