Officials of the Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) have begun soliciting input from local residents and private sector partners for the planned removal of a cutter suction dredger (CSD) that had become stranded in the Philippines' Leyte province.
The CSD was originally intended to be deployed for a black sand mining project in the Leyte town of MacArthur earlier this year until a group of local farmers opposed the move, saying that the vessel's operations would impact their livelihoods.
The 130-metre-long dredger has remained stationary in MacArthur since the middle of February. Residents have since been calling on the government and the dredger's operator, Strong Built Mining Development Corporation (SBMDC), to haul the vessel away or to have it dismantled to prevent it from damaging the surrounding farmland.
Bernard Baluda, Assistant Vice President for Compliance at SBMDC, said that the dredger cannot be dismantled due to cost concerns and that options for its eventual pull-out are being considered.
A dialogue between SBMDC and local residents was recently held in MacArthur with the aim of identifying how the dredger can be removed in a manner that would benefit all parties involved.
According to the Philippine News Agency, the farmers who attended the dialogue will decide on the manner of removal, which will be subject to the validation of the DENR's Mines and Geosciences Bureau.
