Gov’t seeks investors for $1-B water projects

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The 3 water infrastructure projects aim to improve water security for Metro Manila and surrounding provinces

WATER SECURITY. La Mesa Dam supplies water to Metro Manila and nearby provinces. Photo from Twitter by @trish_roque

MANILA, Philippines – The government is looking for local and foreign investors for 3 major water infrastructure projects worth US$1.1 billion (P48 billion) to be auctioned off in the second half of the year.

To promote the projects, a market sounding conference will be held on Tuesday, June 10.

The event, “Invest Water PH: A Water Infrastructure Projects Forum Towards Water Security” shines the spotlight on two public private partnership (PPP) projects and one project to be funded under an official development assistance (ODA) facility.

These are water infrastructure projects of Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) under its Water Security Legacy Plan.

“Our aim is to attract private sector to participate in those water projects,” said PPP Center executive director Cosette Canilao.

The two PPP projects are the New Centennial Water Source – Kaliwa Dam Project (NCWSP) costing $416.1 million (P18.2 billion) and the Bulacan Bulk Water Supply Project (BBWSP) costing $542.22 million (P23.7 billion). The 3rd is an Angat Water Transmission improvement project (AWTIP) worth $134 million (P5.8 billion).

The government hopes to send out invitations for the bidding for the 3 projects within the month of June.

More efficient facilities

The planned infrastructure hopes to beef up water security for Metro Manila and surrounding provinces. These areas suffer every time water levels at Angat Dam and Ipo Dam fall to critical levels due to lack of rain.

The first project, NCWSP, aims to add to water supply to reduce dependence on Angat Dam which provides water for Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

BBWSP will provide treated bulk water to water districts in Bulacan. It will construct, operate and maintain water treatment facilities and environmental facilities, and transport treated bulk water. The project also involves land acquisition, right-of-way access and resettlement of residents.

For the project, MWSS commits to making available 5.5 cubic meters per second (CMS) of its water rights in Angat Reservoir. It will also be possible to group water districts based on a streamlined technical design adapted to the location of the districts, demand, availability of water supply and terrain.

AWTIP, to be funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), will involve the construction of a 6.4-kilometer tunnel with a capacity of 19 CMS stretching from the Ipo Dam to Bigte Basin.

The project aims to make raw water supply for MWSS more reliable by improving the raw water transmission system from Ipo Dam to La Mesa Dam. – Rappler.com

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