Manila Water bags Pagsanjan contract

MANILA, Philippines — Laguna Water Corp., a unit of Ayala-led Manila Water Co. Inc., has been awarded the contract to manage the bulk water supply and wastewater services in the municipality of Pagsanjan in Laguna.

In a regulatory filing, the water utility said it received the notice of award from the Pagsanjan Water District for the implementation of water supply system and sanitation facilities.

The project has an estimated capital expenditure of P173 million over an 18-year contract period.

It is expected to deliver billed volume of 9.57 million liters per day.

The contract covers the design, upgrade, rehabilitation, and expansion of water supply and sanitation facilities including the financing and construction of facilities and infrastructure in the serviced area of Pagsanjan.

Laguna Water will enter into an agreement with Pagsanjan Water District to establish a joint venture company that will implement the project.

This year, Laguna Water is spending P1.2 billion to increase its serviced area within the province from the existing concession in Sta. Rosa, Biñan and Cabuyao, which is about half of the province.

Before taking over the province, Laguna only had 14 percent connected to the pipe system and the intermittent water supply, poor water quality, and systems loss is placed at 48 percent.

Laguna Water, the biggest business of Manila Water outside Metro Manila, has over 130,000 connections from the 17,000 connections it had when it started the concession agreement in 2009.

The company ranks third among the operators outside the metro in terms of size, next to Davao and Cebu.

Laguna Water is a joint venture of the provincial government of Laguna and Manila Water Philippine Ventures (MWPV), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Manila Water.

MWPV holds 70 percent of the company’s shares while the provincial government owns the remaining 30 percent.

The province oversees the company’s compliance with the prescribed service levels, while the National Water Resources Board regulates its tariff.

Laguna Water’s operations began as early as 2004 but it was only in 2009 that its operations took off to become Laguna’s largest water service provider when MWPV acquired the stake of then AAAWater Corp.