LT’s Boracay Tubi System to build 150 STPs on island

MANILA, Philippines — Lucio Tan’s Boracay Tubi System Inc. (BTSI) is planning to put up 150 sewage treatment plants (STPs) in Boracay, in a bid to ensure that establishments are compliant with environmental laws.

On the sidelines of the MacroAsia annual stockholders meeting Friday, BTSI president James Molina said the company is eyeing to put up STPs for the resort owners it serves.

He said these would be tailor-made to the size of hotels depending on their capacity and water consumption.

President Duterte earlier ordered the six-month closure of Boracay from tourists in a bid to rehabilitate the island plagued with a number of environmental problems. 

Some of the environmental issues were caused by the lack of proper sewerage system, as well as a number of business establishments that dispose their waste through the rainwater drainage system all the way to the sea.

Molina said building individual STPs would show who the compliant establishments are.  

“With this method, they can pinpoint who are the[establishments] not compliant,” Molina said.

At present, BTSI serves around 35 percent of the Boracay market.

Molina said they are targeting to serve 50 percent of the island when it reopens.

In line with this, Molina said the company is allocating a five-year capex of P600 million.

BTSI is a subsidiary of MacroAsia Properties Development Corp.

MacroAsia Corp. president Joseph Chua announced thecompany plans to spin off its water business under another holding company, as it would be better for the MacroAsia group to solely focus on aviation-related businesses.

He added the nature of the water business is different since it has a longer payback period.

MacroAsia chief financial officer Amador Sendin said the spin off is likely to happen in two to three years.

“We need track record of operations. We foresee this will be the first year of profitability so we need another two years,” he said.