Manila Water units ink JV agreement with Pagsanjan water district

Subsidiaries of Manila Water Co. Inc. have signed a joint venture agreement with Pagsanjan Water District (Pagwad) for potable supply and sanitation services in the tourist town.

The deal means that Pagwad has given Manila Water Philippine Ventures Inc. (MWPV) and Laguna AAAWater Corp.—a partnership with the provincial government—the authority to operate the water district’s potable water and used water services.

Laguna Water was granted the exclusive right to implement the design, construction, rehabilitation, operation, maintenance, financing, expansion and management of such services in Pagwad’s area of coverage.

The joint venture, which covers an area with a potential billed volume of 9.57 million liters daily, is good for 16 years until Sept. 30, 2035.

Also, the concession is expected to make available sanitation and environmental services, such as septage management.

Further, the venture is expected to lead to the reduction of water losses and increase of water pressure through various network rehabilitation projects.

Laguna Water intends to develop additional ground water sources to meet rising demands, expand its water network to cover all communities in Pagsanjan, and implement sanitation programs.

In 2017, Laguna Water expanded its service area to include Victoria town, bringing it a step closer to its goal of “universal coverage” in the province by 2019.

Before this, Laguna Water was serving 60 percent of the province’s population. As of 2014, that represented a total of about 900,000 residents in Biñan, Sta. Rosa and Cabuyao.

Aside from these towns, Laguna Water also provides used water services to locators at the Laguna Technopark Inc. complex in Biñan.

In June 2018, the provincial government allowed Laguna Water to engage in “other concession activities such as joint venture agreements with water districts and business-to-business engagements, among others.”