Maynilad completes QC sewage treatment plant

Manila, Philippines -  Maynilad Water Services, Inc. has completed the construction of a sewage treatment plant (STP) worth P25 million in Quezon City which will allow for proper treatment and disposal of wastewater in the area.

In a statement yesterday, Maynilad said the new STP along Congressional Ave. is designed to treat up to 570 cubic meters per day of wastewater, which is equivalent to 30,155 five-gallon containers.

The new STP is expected to benefit 4,400 people in the area and help clear the San Juan River Basin, which empties to major water systems like the Pasig River and Manila Bay.

The STP will be using a technology called sequencing batch reactor which provides a high degree of coliform and biological nutrient removal to help ensure that the water emptying into the Culiat Creek is in compliance with environmental standards set by the Environment department.

“Wastewater management plays an important role in protecting the health and sanitation of communities and the environment. This is why we continue to accelerate our projects for the proper treatment and disposal of wastewater in our concession area. This is the commitment of Maynilad,” Maynilad president and chief executive officer Ricky P. Vargas said.

Maynilad has set aside P2.7 billion for its sewerage and sanitation drive this year.

The firm intends to construct a total of 14 STPs in the San Juan River Basin area until 2013 and five more STPs in other areas of the West Zone by 2016.

   Last month, the World Bank extended P275 million worth of loan to state-run Land Bank of the Philippines to be made available to the two water concessionaires to be used to improve wastewater collection and treatment practices in Metro Manila.

   Maynilad will tap the loan to partially fund its construction and rehabilitation of STPs and conveyance systems in Pasay, Muntinlupa, Valenzuela and Quezon City, as well as the construction of a septage treatment plant in the southern part of its concession.

   The World Bank said earlier that while Metro Manila generates about two million cubic meters of wastewater everyday, only 17 percent of the volume gets treated before being discharged into water channels in the metropolis.

   The two water concessionaires, Maynilad and Manila Water Co, Inc. are working on a program to ensure 100-percent wastewater collection and treatment for Metro Manila.

   Maynilad has set its capital expenditures at P8.4 billion to improve and expand both its water and wastewater services this year.

   To fund development projects, Maynilad is also planning to raise P2 billion, on top of the P8.4 billion capital expenditures, in the latter part of the year.

   Maynilad, the consortium between Metro Pacific Investments Corp. and DMCI Holdings, Inc. is the largest private water concessionaire in the country in terms of customer base.

   Maynilad covers the cities of Manila (all but portions of San Andres and Sta Ana), Quezon City (west of San Juan River, West Avenue, EDSA, Congressional, Mindanao Avenue, the northern part starting from the districts of the Holy Spirit and Batasan Hills), Makati (west of South Super Highway), Caloocan, Pasay, Parañaque, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, Valenzuela, Navotas and Malabon all in Metro Manila; Cavite City, and the towns of Bacoor, Imus, Kawit, Noveleta and Rosario, all in Cavite Province.