Cagayan de Oro City will soon have the long-delayed sewage treatment plant following the approval by the City Development Council (CDC) for the P3.4 billion facility. Accordingly, lot negotiations are underway for the plant to be built in Barangay Bonbon near the Bonbon-Macabalan Bridge. The Regional Development Council (RDC) had actually endorsed the project in 2021 but construction was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Construction is scheduled to start next year (2024).
As per information by City Local Environment and Natural Resources Office (CLENRO) head Armen Cuenca, the project will be divided into two phases with half of the funding to be shouldered by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the other half by the City Government. Construction will start next year and by 2027, Phase 1 of the sewage treatment plant will be operational. Meanwhile, Phase 2 is targeted to be operational by either 2032 or 2033.
The initial phase of the sewage treatment plant will cost P2.47 billion (DPWH and City Hall to allocated P1.2 billion each) and of that amount, P1.560 billion will be spent on the conveyance system which consists of the tubing. It will have a capacity of 17.5 million liters per day (MLD). Phase 2 will cost P1.354 billion and will have a capacity of 35 million liters per day.
The project is also in compliance to Republic Act 9275 or the Philippine Clean Water Act which mandates all highly urbanized cities to install a sewage treatment plant.
with photos/text by CIO
