Philippine-China Agricultural Cooperation Reaches A New Level

Recently, the Chico River Pumping Station Irrigation Project in the Philippines undertaken by CAMCE Engineering Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "CAMCE") received a project completion certificate issued by the owner, the National Irrigation Bureau of the Philippines. This project is a key livelihood project between China and the Philippines, and has been widely reported by Chinese and Philippine media such as People's Daily, China Central Radio and Television, China News, Philippine Star, and Philippine Business Daily. The project will provide long-term and stable irrigation water for about 8,700 hectares of land in the main production area of "Northern Granary", benefiting more than 5,000 local farmers. Eduardo Gullen, executive director of the National Irrigation Bureau of the Philippines, said: "The cooperation between the Philippines and China in the field of agricultural irrigation will benefit more Filipinos."

About 540 kilometers north of Manila, the capital of the Philippines, there is a plain of nearly 10,000 hectares. It is one of the most important rice and corn producing areas in the Philippines and is known as the "Northern Granary" of the Philippines. However, affected by the distribution of water resources, the instability of irrigation water in the "Northern Granary" has always been a problem, restricting crop production.

The "Northern Granary" is located between the two provinces of Cagayan and Kalinga in the Philippines. The Chico River is the main source of water for production and domestic use in the northern Philippines. In the language of the local Kalinga people, "Chico" means "life". However, due to the low terrain of the Chico River and the high terrain of most of the surrounding farmland, irrigation water for the "Northern Granary" becomes a problem during the dry season. To change this situation, in June 2018, the Chico River Irrigation Project undertaken by a Chinese company officially started here. As one of the flagship projects of the Philippine "Build More, Build Better" plan, it is also an infrastructure project and livelihood project that the governments of China and the Philippines are focusing on promoting. The progress of the project has always been concerned by all walks of life in the Philippines.

The pumping station of the Chico River Irrigation Project is built along the river and is the main part of the project. Its function is to raise the water of the Chico River by 29 meters and lead it to the fertile fields on the other side of the hill. In addition, the project also includes reservoirs, connecting canals, main canals, branch canals and 490 canal auxiliary structures. It is reported that the pumping station has 6 pumping units, which can pump more than 60,000 cubic meters of river water per hour at full load. Behind the pumping station, there is a huge reservoir, through which the pumped river water will flow into the canal, and enter the two provinces of Cagayan and Kalinga; after that, it will pass through 21 rivers with a total length of 70-kilometer branch. The branch canal transports the river water to 22 villages, and finally disperses to the grooves around the ridges of these villages to nourish the local farmland.

The project was signed and started in 2018. The main construction content is to build a new lifting pump station, substation, supporting transmission lines, tunnels, and channels on the right bank of the Chico River. After the completion of the project, it has effectively improved the efficiency of the use of local natural resources, helped the agricultural development of the Philippines, brought good social and economic benefits, and delivered high-quality projects to the cooperation between China and the Philippines.

Edited by Li Wei

with reference to <https://www.yidaiyilu.gov.cn/xwzx/hwxw/300356.htm>

<https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1759695837973730296&wfr=spider&for=pc>