MWSS’ Angat project gets P5.7-B ADB loan

MANILA-BASED multilateral lender Asian Development Bank  (ADB) will lend to the Philippines $123.3 million (about P5.7 billion) for a project aimed at modernizing Metro Manila’s water supply system.

The loan approved by the ADB will be used by state-run Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) to build a new tunnel at the Angat transmission system in order to “(reduce) the risk of shortages as demand for water rises in tandem with the city’s booming population.”

“The Angat transmission system provides more than 95 percent of Manila’s water but its existing tunnels are up to 75 years old and in poor condition, leaving the metropolitan area highly vulnerable to serious supply disruptions. This assistance will allow the MWSS to build a fourth tunnel, clearing the way for it to upgrade and modernize its other existing tunnels and aqueducts to maximize and strengthen supplies,” said Paul van Klaveren, senior urban development specialist at the ADB’s Southeast Asia department.

“In the interim, there is an urgent need to rehabilitate the Angat system to avert a potential supply breakdown, and the MWSS has been carrying out improvements including the construction of a new aqueduct. The benefits of this aqueduct can only be fully achieved if a new tunnel is built to provide it with raw water,” according to the ADB.

The soon-to-be-built additional tunnel will be more than six-kilometer long, with an internal span of around four meters, the ADB said.

“A key element will be the structural measures to limit the impact of earthquakes and other hazards, as well as environmental degradation. Capacity building support will also be provided to improve the skills of MWSS staff so they can meet their management responsibilities for securing raw water supplies for the concessionaires,” the ADB said.