Maynilad commits to more job generation

MANILA, Philippines — West Zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services Inc. said it remains committed to creating employment opportunities despite the pandemic, as it reports to have generated 350,000 jobs since 2007.

“Even as our infrastructure projects bring potable water to more West Zone communities, it also helps to keep the economy going through the creation of more jobs,” Maynilad president and CEO Ramoncito Fernandez said.

“We are committed to continue generating employment opportunities through our service improvement projects, notwithstanding the effects of the pandemic on our operations,”he said.

Maynilad said the jobs it created since 2007, which include those generated by contractors and suppliers that Maynilad commissioned, were required to meet the company’s P109 billion worth of capital expenditure projects from 2007 to 2020.

Among the company’s capex initiatives are the massive rehabilitation and strategic replacement of old pipelines, laying of new pipes to unserved areas, installation of valves and other measuring devices across its water infrastructure network, and construction of new pumping stations, reservoirs and treatment facilities.

Last month, Maynilad reported that it has replaced almost 2,700 kilometers of old pipelines since the company’s re-privatization in 2007.

The pipe length is 67 percent of the water distribution network that Maynilad inherited 14 years ago.

The company said it spent P1 billion in 2020 alone for pipe replacements in portions of Quezon City, Caloocan, Valenzuela, Navotas, Manila, Pasay, Parañaque, Muntinlupa, Las Piñas, Bacoor, Cavite and Imus.

Maynilad also reported earlier that it spent P189 million for its leak repair efforts last year as part of its non-revenue water management program.

The company said it plugged 22,500 pipe leaks in 2020, most of which were found on secondary and primary lines in Quezon City, Parañaque, and Muntinlupa.

This brings the total leaks repaired by the company to almost 300,000 since its re-privatization in 2007 when it inherited one of the oldest pipe networks in Asia.

Maynilad currently serves around 9.8 million people and is the largest private water concessionaire in the Philippines in terms of customer base.

It serves the areas of Caloocan, Pasay, Parañaque, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, Valenzuela, Navotas, Malabon, and certain portions of Manila, Quezon City, Makati and Cavite.