By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will build three massive water detention basins beneath portions of Rizal Park next year as part of a plan to temporarily hold floodwaters threatening Manila’s major thoroughfares and nearby communities.
Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon said Tuesday that the DPWH and the National Parks Development Committee (NPDC) agreed to construct the basins inside the Luneta area during a meeting.
The project was initially planned to include only two detention basins, but officials decided to add a third facility to increase the park’s capacity to hold floodwater.
“We agreed on three basins inside the Luneta area. In fact, the initial agreement was only for two, but we decided to add one more,” Dizon told reporters after the meeting.
Each basin will cover approximately 4,000 square meters and will have a storage capacity equivalent to about six Olympic-sized swimming pools, according to Dizon.
The proposed facilities are intended to intercept and temporarily store floodwaters flowing from Taft Avenue, Kalaw Avenue, Padre Burgos Avenue and Roxas Boulevard, as well as portions of Malate, before the water is pumped out into Manila Bay.
“It is very important for us to have these so we have something to store water in,” Dizon said.
The three basins will be located on the right side of Rizal Park facing the Luneta pumping station, including underneath the parking area of Harbor View restaurant and at the corner of Maria Orosa Street and Roxas Boulevard.
The DPWH plans to include the detention-basin project as an additional item in its proposed 2027 national budget, with construction targeted to start during the first quarter of next year.
Dizon said construction is expected to take less than a year.
The DPWH will proceed with consultations with other government agencies after securing approval from the NPDC, the attached agency of the Department of Tourism responsible for preserving, developing and managing Rizal and Paco parks.
Among the agencies to be consulted are the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) and the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (Tieza).
Dizon said the PPA is planning to construct a cruise-ship dock on the right side of Rizal Park. He said he would ask the agency to allow the DPWH to finish the detention-basin project first.
The DPWH will also coordinate with Tieza because the agency may have plans to lease part of the restaurant area affected by the project.
NPDC Executive Director Cecile Lorenzana proposed that water collected in the detention basins could eventually be reused for watering plants and trees inside Rizal Park and for other purposes.
Meanwhile, Dizon said the DPWH has already started constructing another detention basin at Plaza Rajah Sulayman, in front of Malate Church.
That facility, however, will be smaller than an Olympic-sized swimming pool.
The Rizal Park project will add another layer to Manila’s flood-control infrastructure by providing temporary storage for stormwater before it is pumped toward Manila Bay.
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