Magat Dam Hydro-electric Power Plant

Right after finishing his official job in San Mateo town, the drive southwards back to Santiago City was interrupted again by Tutubi when he saw the road signs leading to Magat Dam on a road also leading to Ifugao province. He instructed his driver to turn right on a mostly "rocky" road leading to the dam said to be a popular picnic place for the locals

Tutubi's driver wanted him to buy tilapia grown in cages in the lake but found none selling the fish and so just took a few photos before leaving.

picture of Magat dam with the massive spillway on the background

According to a sign at Magat Dam, "The Magat Dam Brief History:

The construction of the Magat Dam and appurtenant structures, the principal feature of the Magat River Project (MRRP) was authorized by Presidential Decree 693 signed on May 7, 1975 by the late President Ferdinand Edralin Marcos.

Implementation of the project was based on the preliminary study conducted in 1973 by the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) with the assistance of the United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Subsequent detailed and extensive damsite investigation and engineering studies further confirmed the feasibility of what is now known as NIA's most daring infrastructure project and one of Asia's biggest dams today.

The total project cost is P3.4B, jointly financed by the Philippine Government and the World Bank. It was inaugurated on October 27, 1982 by the late President Marcos. It was inaugurated on October 27, 1982 by the late President Marcos. He said 'This is a truly a day of pride for all those who worked in the project for all our people and our country.'"

The present hydro-electric power plant is acting in reserve capacity. It only runs when additional power is needed
The lake reservoir, created from Magat River, is now used as tilapia farms by some enterprising locals
A place where harvested tilapia from the fish cages are unloaded from boats and loaded on jeepneys. Notice also the low water level of the dam

Magat Hydroelectric Power Plant sits at the boundary of Alfonso Lista town of Ifugao (part of the Cordillera Administrative Region) and the town of Ramon, Isabela.

Other dams in the Philippines are La Mesa Dam in Quezon City/Rizal province (site of the La Mesa Ecopark), Pantabangan Dam in Nueva Ecija, San Roque Dam in Pangasinan, Wawa Dam in Montalban (Rodriguez), Rizal. A similar project can also be found in Laguna with Caliraya Lake(including Lake Lumot) as reservoirs.

Tutubi would also love to visit the engineering wonder of Hoover Dam in Colorado, USA and the Three Gorges Dam in China, currently the world's largest hydro-electric power plant in the world.

How to get there:

Directions for those with vehicles: there's a road going there with direction signs on the highway of Ramon town of Isabela between San Mateo and Santiago City.

For those commuting, Magat Dam is a jeepney ride from Santiago City plus a tricycle to the park. A tricycle terminal is located at the corner of the highway in Ramon to take you to the place.