About 225,000 cubic meters of silt will be removed from the 1.5-kilometer stretch of Manila Bay from the Manila Yacht Club breakwater to the United States Embassy in Manila, Public Works Secretary Mark Villar said Tuesday.
He made the statement as his department started its desilting operations on the bay.
Villar said amphibious excavators, dumping scows, dump trucks, debris segregators, street sweepers and vacuum sewer jet cleaners were being deployed in the area and other strategic locations.
“This event marks the full-blast dredging within this critical section of Manila Bay,” Villar said.
“Our Bureau of Equipment, Regional and District Engineering Offices in Metro Manila have deployed a total of 28 equipment and 50 personnel to operate 16 hours a day, six days a week.
“Excavation will be the major mechanism for the removal of the accumulated pollutants on Manila Bay. Through our crew and equipment fleet, we aim to desilt within 150 meters from the shoreline of Manila Bay.”
Villar said they expected to collect 600 cubic meters of silt a day.
DPWH-BOE Director Toribio Noel Ilao said the desilting activities will be divided into five sectors, each ranging from 200 to 300 meters long, until the 1.5-kilometer stretch is finished. Each sector will be desilted within 90 to 120 days.
Public Works will coordinate with the Environment department and the Philippine Coast Guard in monitoring Manila Bay where the depth will be measured and the water quality tested.
The department will also clean up and declog the tributaries and canals in the city.
Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada said the city will support the rehabilitation of Manila Bay and praised the Duterte administration for it. PNA
Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu said they will be using sewer inspection cameras that will identify the establishments releasing untreated water to the bay.
“These cameras will determine where this wastewater flowing into the bay is coming from,” he said.
The national government launched the campaign to clean Manila Bay in January.
