Together they warn that the Carrizal-Chone system would not irrigate even 50% of the hectares of phase 1 crops

Portoviejo

The lack of rain in much of Manabí raises concern among farmers in this province, which has an irrigation system, the Carrizal-Chone, which still does not provide its service in its entirety.

After the earthquake of April 16, 2016, this system, whose construction began at the beginning of this century and with a cost of more than 200 million dollars, stopped its objective of irrigating more than 9,300 hectares in a first phase, due to the severe damage suffered.

The project consists of two phases, but only one came into operation with which some 9,300 hectares would be irrigated. After the earthquake, the intention was to rehabilitate the first phase that includes about 50 kilometers of the common trunk, plus the branches and thus connect the irrigation plots of the Junín, Bolívar, Tosagua and Chone cantons. The second phase contemplates another 15 kilometers, but for that the studies have not yet been done.

This project in its first phase was built by the Brazilian company Odebrecht, while the second phase that is not operational was carried out by the Ecuadorian consortium Eseico-Coinfa. This second phase aims to irrigate some 4,000 more hectares.

In total, the work should irrigate water for agricultural and livestock production in more than 13,000 hectares in the four aforementioned cantons.

Operating limitations

Ricardo Macías, president of the board of irrigators of those localities, estimated that only about 4,000 hectares would be irrigated, despite the fact that, according to the Manabí Prefecture, the entity responsible for the operation of this water system, the work is already in more than 99% and that it would soon be delivered.

“Since it is reconstruction, as the system is being tested, the pipes continue to spark (release), there are sectors where the water still does not arrive, there are certain leaks in certain places, even where the common trunk comes out, from there there are shortcomings because the pipe it is throwing out a lot of water, so it continues to be mended and a total and complete reconstruction is not achieved. Approximately 4,000 hectares are being irrigated now,” said Macías.

According to the Manabí Prefecture, the rehabilitation of the Carrizal-Chone irrigation system in its phase 1 was contracted in 2019 by the previous administration directed by Mariano Zambrano, and the work was awarded to the RR&O Consortium, the investment of this work reaches 17 .4 million dollars and financed by the Development Bank.

Xavier Santos, assemblyman for Manabí, made a tour last month of at least 3 kilometers of extension of this system, from the beginning of the common trunk, and pointed out that from the catchment point there are leaks, pipe couplings and there are some sections of the pipe with patches.

According to the information that Santos received from several of the irrigators, it is that the rehabilitation of phase 1 of this Carrizal-Chone system included changing meters, changing couplings and terminals and some valves, something that presumably would not have been done based on of what is established in the contract.

Santos pointed out that the Prefecture indicated that when the rehabilitation work began on phase 1 of this system, -and the one that should have been completed a year after the work began in 2019-, they realized that the studies allegedly had failures and that part of the resources allocated for this work were used to begin repairs to those studies. With a complementary contract, according to the Prefecture, almost all of the work would have been completed.

Rehabilitation of the Carrizal-Chone irrigation system has made little progress and several setbacks

Santos’ visit generated a report that reached the hands of the members of the Food Sovereignty Commission, and in which it is reported within the conclusions and recommendations that “its lack of maintenance and possible non-compliance by the company contracted for the maintenance of the aqueduct, as well as the possible lack of management by the state institution in charge of managing this important work for the irrigation system in the northern part of the province of Manabí.

Fernando Villavicencio, from the Assembly’s Oversight Commission, has also questioned whether the Prefecture ensures that the project is working well when there are flaws in this work.

Versions in committee

After this preliminary report, the representatives of the Prefecture of Manabí, the Ministry of Transportation and Public Works, entity currently in charge of the Reconstruction Committee, contracting and controlling company, were invited last Wednesday to provide information on what is happening with the rehabilitation of phase 1 of this system.

Only Leonardo Orlando, prefect of Manabí, via telematics, maintained a dialogue with the assembly members of the aforementioned Commission. In a statement issued by his communication department, the head of the Manabí Prefecture indicated in his dialogue with the legislators that the system is working.

“Today (Wednesday 2) we formally begin the process of closing the project, once the contractual term has been fulfilled, including the complementary contract to reach the 9,383 hectares that will benefit from the rehabilitation of phase 1 of the system,” said the prefect.

He said that the testing phase will serve to detect any pending affectation. “We will not sign the provisional acceptance certificate if all the components of the project are delivered to our satisfaction”, he indicated.

Orlando announced that the Prefecture of Manabí will continue working on this project, for which it arranged to finance with its own resources ($ 260,000) the studies of phase 2 of the Carrizal-Chone system, “to complete about 13,300 hectares with the two phases ”.

Santos pointed out that the other people or representatives of entities related to this work will visit the Commission in the coming days. He added that he must still have information on the contract for the rehabilitation of the Carrizal-Chone system, and if it is the case, undertake an investigation process so that this investigation is delivered to control agencies such as the Comptroller General of the State and does not rule out that even Inquire about the probable relationship that the representatives of the RR&O Consortium would have with some officials of this province. (I)