MWSS urges speedy ECC for P12.2 billion Kaliwa Dam

MANILA, Philippines — The Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) is asking the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to hasten the approval of the Environmental Compliance Certificate of the P12.2-billion Kaliwa Dam in a bid to secure Metro Manila’s water supply.

The New Centennial Water Supply project can only take off once the DENR issues the ECC, a requirement that needs to be secured by any project that poses potential environmental risk or impact.

“We already asked (Secretary Roy) Cimatu to ask his people to expedite the process and not to be lax about it because this is a national government project approved by NEDA and signed by the President himself,” MWSS administrator Reynaldo Velasco said.

“We already submitted that (ECC application) before. But we also understand that they have a process since it is a big project,” he added.

The DENR is also doing its own consultation and completing other requirements such as the counting of the trees that will be cut down for the project.

MWSS hopes to secure the ECC and finish the design until March next year to immediately proceed with the construction of the dam.

“It is supposed to be finished by 2023 but I want it done by 2022 before President Duterte ends his term,” Velasco said.

“Once the report is accepted, we are just given 120 days to approve the ECC. I think three months can be done if all the requirements based on the procedural screening are submitted,” DENR Undersecretary Jonas Leones said.

“In fairness to MWSS, they are cooperating with us and they are giving all the requirements that we are asking,” he added.

Velasco also clarified claims that there were no consultations on the part of the MWSS.

“We never shortcut our project because we do not want to derail or give ammunition to the people who are complaining about it,” he said.

Meanwhile, the MWSS has already released an initial P565 million to the Department of Public Works and Highways for road construction.

Of the P12.2 billion construction cost, 85 percent will be funded by the official development assistance (ODA) from China amounting to P10.2 billion, while 15 percent or P2 billion will be shouldered by MWSS.

After 34 years, Kaliwa Dam is set to fully take off following the formal signing of the contract between President Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jinping last month.

The project, which will supply additional 600 million liters of water per day to Metro Manila, will be undertaken by China Energy Engineering Corp.

The construction of the multi-billion water project was first approved by NEDA in 2014. The financing scheme was changed in 2017 from a public-private partnership to ODA.