Manila Water unit inks Pagsanjan supply deal

MANILA, Philippines — Laguna Water Corp. has inked a joint venture agreement with the Pagsanjan Water District for the management of bulk water supply and wastewater services in the municipality of Pagsanjan.

In a regulatory filing, the Manila Water unit said the contract would be implemented for a period of 16 years until September 2035.

It was in July 2018 when the water utility received the notice of award from Pagwad with the project having an estimated capital expenditure of P173 million and delivering a billed volume of 9.57 million liters per day.

Under the agreement, Pagwad grants Laguna Water the exclusive right to rehabilitate, operate, fund, expand and manage water supply and sanitation services in the former’s service area.

To ensure provision of quality services, Laguna Water will develop additional ground water sources to meet rising demands, expand its water network to cover all communities in Pagsanjan, and implement sanitation programs to comply with various Philippine laws and regulations.

The JVA is also seen to reduce water losses and increase water pressure through various network rehabilitation projects.

Laguna Water has committed to deliver 24/7 water supply that is compliant with the 2017 Philippine National Standards for Drinking Water.

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 (NWRB) 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.