VIRAC, Catanduanes – The Department of Science and Technology in Bicol (DOST-5) will soon build desalination facilities that will provide clean, potable water to two communities in this island province,
DOST-Catanduanes director, Marie Grace Molina, said their regional office in Legazpi City has allocated P2.9 million for the development of a desalination project in Pandan town.
“The project is under the Community Empowerment thru Science and Technology (CEST) program. Pandan, the northernmost of Catanduanes, is one of our CEST communities in un this province. The beneficiary barangay of the town has a scarcity in water supply,” Molina explained, adding that Pandan has set aside P1.5 million as counterpart fund for the project.
“The project will be an eco-enterprise to enable it to generate funds for its operations and maintenance. The equipment will provide low-cost clean water compared to water refilling stations which are very expensive,” she added.
Molina said construction of the project will start shortly – likely within the first quarter of this year. The facility, she added, will complement another DOST-initiated project in Pandan – a granulator facility for a cassava farmers’ organization in the town.