PROPERTY GIANT AYALA LAND INC. AND AFFILIate water concessionaire Manila Water Co. have teamed up on a new framework on the development and operation of a water and wastewater utility service in Laguna.

The partnership will open up a new business stream for Manila Water in terms of putting up a large-scale pipeline and plumbing infrastructure in Laguna while benefiting Ayala Land and the consumers in terms of lower water distribution cost.

?Manila Water is looking for the next East Zone [its concession area in Metro Manila] and we think that the next East Zone is really Laguna,? said Perry Rivera, director for regulation and corporate development.

?We realized that there are potential synergies and this is just the first of the series of moves where our companies will partner,? he said.

Under the agreement, the parties will form a joint-venture company that will serve as the water and wastewater planning, developing and operating vehicle for targeted real estate developments. The partnership seeks to initially start with the Ayalas? mixed-use Nuvali development but intends to cover other property developments in the area as well.

?Typically when a developer starts with a development, it will hire its own contractor to do plumbing. With this, we will ask Manila Water to do it and we will pay them,? ALI president Antonino Aquino said in an interview.

Manila Water, which has expertise in this area, will install the pipelines in an optimized manner and take part in the master-planning and development.

Manila Water president Jose Rene Almendras said the partnership would provide a ?win-win? situation. After recently obtaining a 25-year concession to provide water and sewerage services in the area, Almendras said the company was already doing these tasks to the population.

While the initial platform for the project is the 1,840-hectare Nuvali, the plan is to expand within the area.

Meanwhile, Manila Water is also looking for a partner in pursuing water projects in Indonesia as part of its expansion strategy.

?We hope that within the year we can talk to a few possible partners,? said Virgilio Rivera Jr., Manila Water group director for regulation and corporate development.

Rivera said International Finance Corp., the World Bank affiliate with a stake in Manila Water, could help identify potential partners.

?IFC is a key partner as we regionalize. They can provide a lot of leads,? Rivera said.

He said Indonesia has always been of interest to Manila Water because of its large population of 200 million people, fast metropolitan growth, and much room for infrastructure investment.

Manila Water will be interested in either a bulk water project, where investments can range from $30 million to $50 million, or in a distribution project, which will entail a larger investment.

Besides Indonesia, Manila Water is working to expand in India. Manila Water recently disclosed that it has signed an agreement with Jindal Water Infrastructure Ltd. of India to create a joint-venture company that would serve as a vehicle for the planning and development of water projects in the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra.