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Magat Dam is a large rock-fill dam in the island of Luzon in the Philippines. The dam is located along the Magat River, a major tributary of the Cagayan River. The construction of the dam started in 1975 and was completed in 1982. It is one of the largest dams in the Philippines. It is a multi-purpose dam which is used primarily for irrigating about of agricultural lands, flood control, and power generation through the Magat Hydroelectric Power Plant.
The water stored in the reservoir is enough to supply about two months of normal energy requirements.
Implementation of this multipurpose 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 dam site 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.
It was Southeast Asia's first large multipurpose dam. The dam is part of the Magat River Multipurpose Project (MRMP) which was financed by the World Bank and whose purpose is to improve on the existing Magat River Irrigation System (MARIS) and to triple the production of rice in the Cagayan River basin.
The project was jointly financed by the Philippine Government and the World Bank which extended a US$150M loan to finance the foreign exchange requirement. In addition, a US$9M loan from Bahrain was obtained for the purchase of other equipment for the diversion tunnel, soil laboratory and model testing. The total project cost is US$3.4B (yr. 1975).
The dam was constructed to last for 50 years but increased siltation and sedimentation in the reservoir, slash-and-burn farming, illegal logging and fish-caging resulted in the deterioration of the dam's watershed. The 1990 Luzon earthquake also contributed to the increased siltation in the Magat River system. Because of this, in January 2006, then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo instructed various government agencies to create a rehabilitation plan to improve the lifespan of the dam system.
The non-power components such as the dam, reservoir, and intake gates are owned, operated, and managed by the National Irrigation Administration (NIA). The hydroelectric plant was formerly owned by the National Power Corporation (NAPOCOR). Under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (Republic Act No. 9136), the Magat hydroelectric power plant underwent a privatization process. As a result, the plant's ownership and operation was turned over to SN Aboitiz Power-Magat, Inc. (SNAP-Magat), a joint venture of a local company, Aboitiz Power Corporation (AP), and a Norwegian firm SN Power in April 2007. SNAP won the bidding in 2006.
SN Aboitiz Power-Magat, Inc. completed the half-life refurbishment of the Magat Hydroelectric Power Plant in 2014. Refurbishment began in 2009 and was completed in June 2014. Half-life refurbishment ensures that the power plant facility remains available throughout its life span.
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