Government and businessmen declare the El Tablon, Los Llanitos and Jicatuyo dams of urgency for Honduras

This Honduras government release was published using machine translation.

San Pedro Sula, December 1 . The construction of the El Tablon, Llanitos and Jicatuyo dams is urgent for the country and a national priority, the Government and businessmen of the Sula Valley agreed today at a work table that met in the 105 Brigade of San Pedro Sula, the minister reported. of the Presidency, Ebal Díaz.

The information was provided by Díaz in the presentation of resolutions made to President Juan Orlando Hernández through a virtual conference in which the Government Cabinet and businessmen of the Sula Valley participated.

According to Díaz, the budget is guaranteed through the Ministry of Finance and Strategic Investment of Honduras (Invest-H) for the temporary rehabilitation of the banks and relief channels of the Ulúa and Chamelecón rivers.

He affirmed that the work will be carried out quickly, for which two companies are already hired by Invest H, and "the only limitations are the weather conditions and because there are still flooded sectors that do not allow rehabilitation work to be carried out."

He indicated that the reconstruction of the banks and the infrastructure that mitigates or channels the water from the aforementioned rivers in the Sula Valley will be carried out in the dry season, "because we have to wait for the water saturation to drop and dry the properties; then, only rehabilitation can be done. "

The Board is of the utmost urgency

Regarding the El Tablon dam, Díaz said that the designs, studies and budget that will enable its construction are already in place.

He assured that "at the table it was concluded that it is of the utmost urgency to start the work, that it can no longer wait for time, especially if the rains or floods continue, and that represents considerable losses for the areas that have problems with the passage of natural phenomena ".

This also implies making "the adaptation of immediate infrastructure works such as roads, the resettlement of the affected communities to better conditions in relation to those they are now, and the same curtains. Everything was considered an urgent matter."

Prioritization of Llanitos and Jicatuyo

Díaz reported that an agreement was reached on the prioritization of the construction of the Los Llanitos and Jicatuyo dams.

Within this list of agreements is the updating of the studies, the financial analyzes, how much they will cost and how they will be built, as well as the value of the lands, he said.

In the same way, the construction of both dams was considered a priority, because they are part of the system that will control the water levels that the Ulúa river carries to the Sula Valley, he explained.

Díaz said that it is necessary to have the strengthening of a special administrative structure for the Sula Valley, "with more force, greater capacities, to guarantee that the works are built and administered and that they are maintained over time, but not only the dams, but what has to do with the care of river basins and early warning systems that help prevent further disasters in the country. "

All of the above has the objective of "avoiding problems such as those caused by natural phenomena, to the extent that Iota and Eta exceeded the damage caused by Hurricane Mitch up to three times," he said.

The new structure that is being worked on for the region will be based on the Sula Valley Regional Council based on the Law of the Nation Plan and Country Vision.

The official said that everything raised must include the components of social oversight and the accompaniment of auditing companies of international stature to guarantee that the resources and procedures are handled properly, efficiently and transparency is guaranteed.

"All this will greatly change the risk of floods, because there will be mechanisms to control the water generated by the rains and climate change, which will increase every day," he emphasized.