The Philippines is set to get about $3 billion in investments in water sewerage projects alone and is keen on public-private partnership projects for new water sources besides Angat Dam.
This was disclosed by Ramon Alikpala, chair of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System, during the Japan External Trade Organization workshop on private-public partnership (PPP) projects organized in cooperation with the PPP Center.
Metro Manila’s water services concessionaires Manila Water Co. Inc. and Maynilad Water Services Inc. will invest the $3 billion under their current concession programs, Alikpala said. Asked whether the government would still consider developing the Laiban dam project in Rizal, for which San Miguel Corp. had submitted an unsolicited proposal, Alikpala said it was still one of the options but the scale might be different.
The project was initially estimated to produce 1,900 million liters a day. Alikpala said several other new water sources were also being considered, including the Pampanga River, Wawa River, Laguna Lake, and even Sierra Madre.
Manila Water and Maynilad are exploring such options together with MWSS, according to Alikpala.
“From a supply perspective, we may not really need a new water source until 2029. Previously we thought it was 2015 but a new study with the World Bank says otherwise. Yet from a water security perspective, we need to develop alternatives. Angat Dam is near a fault line and it supplies 97 percent of Metro Manila’s water source,” Alikpala said.
Manila Water’s concession in the so-called East Zone of Metro Manila and surrounding provinces covers Manila (San Andres and Sta. Ana only), Quezon City (east of San Juan River, West Avenue, Edsa, Congressional and Mindanao Avenues, districts of Tandang Sora, Pasong Tamo and Matandang Balara), Makati City (east of South Super Highway), Mandaluyong City, San Juan, Marikina City, Pasig City, Pateros, Taguig—all in Metro Manila, and the province of Rizal.
Maynilad serves the cities of Manila (all but portions of San Andres and Sta. Ana), Quezon City (west of San Juan River, West Avenue, Edsa, Congressional and Mindanao Avenues, the northern part starting from the districts of the Holy Spirit and Batasan Hills), Makati (west of South Super Highway), Caloocan, Pasay, Parañaque, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, Valenzuela, Navotas and Malabon, all in Metro Manila; Cavite City and the towns of Bacoor, Imus, Kawit, Noveleta and Rosario in the province of Cavite.