MANILA, Philippines — Manila Water Co. Inc.’s wholly owned subsidiary Manila Water Philippine Ventures Inc. (MWPV) has broken ground for a 25-year bulk water supply project in Pangasinan.
In a statement yesterday, Manila Water said the consortium has signed the concession agreement with the provincial government of Pangasinan for the project, which will bring an additional 200 million liters of water per day (MLD) to the province.
“The water consortium will invest P8 billion over the next 25 years for the implementation of capital expenditure programs that will create an infrastructure that will source water from Agno River using the riverbank filtration technology and will increase water supply in the province,” Manila Water said.
Through the project, at least 14 cities and municipalities in Pangasinan, including Villasis, Urdaneta, Malasiqui, Dagupan, Mangaldan, Sta. Barbara, Calasiao, Mapandan, Manaoag, San Carlos, Binmaley, Lingayen, San Jacinto, and San Fabian will see improvement in their water supply.
Pangasinan Governor Amado Espino III said the project would serve as an investment for the more than three million residents of Pangasinan and that apart from water supply, it would generate jobs and more economic avenues for the province.
For his part, MWPV North Luzon regional manager Christian Mhel Marcos said the consortium is very grateful to the support extended by the provincial government, especially in laying the six-year groundwork and for facilitating coordination with different stakeholders to ensure that the project objectives are attained, and benefits are maximized.
Manila Water said efforts for the water project began in September 2016 when the consortium submitted an unsolicited proposal to the provincial government of Pangasinan.
This was followed by the initial evaluation of the Pangasinan Public-Private Partnership Selection Committee (PPP-SC) before the Notice of Acceptance was issued in November 2018.
The company said negotiations ensued and the Joint Certifications of Successful Negotiations was signed in July 2019.
In September last year, the provincial government presented the notice of award for the development, financing, operation, and maintenance of the bulk water project to Manila Water.
Manila Water serves the east zone of Metro Manila and Rizal Province, while MWPV operates bulk water supply projects in the province of Cebu and in Tagum, Davao del Norte.
MWPV also provides water and wastewater services in other key metropolitan areas, including Batangas, Laguna, Bulacan, Pampanga, Boracay, Iloilo, and Samar, among others.