ADB offers technical aid for Angat project

The Asian Development Bank will provide technical assistance for the proposed “Angat Water Transmission Improvement Project,” which will serve to boost Metro Manila’s water supply.

In its latest report, ADB said its board of directors had already approved the offer of technical assistance worth $800,000.

Proponents of the Angat project hope to reduce water leakages arising from old infrastructure and meet the substantial rise in demand for water over the medium term due to the metropolis’ growing population.

An international consulting firm will be hired by ADB to help in the conduct of the technical assistance.

ADB said the improvement project for Angat Dam, which accounts for 97 percent of Metro Manila’s water supply, is crucial in aiding the economy’s growth in the coming years.

“The main components of the Angat transmission line are as old as 50 years, poor condition, and not in compliance with structural seismic requirements, risking the partial interruption of Metro Manila’s water supply,” ADB said in the report.

ADB also cited estimates that increase in demand will accelerate starting 2015 and may peak in 2025 when consumption is estimated to reach 6.16 million cubic meters a day.

Metro Manila, with a population of nearly 22 million in 2012, is the fifth-most populous metropolitan area in the world, according to the “Demographia World Urban Areas” publication. It follows Tokyo in Japan (with 37.13 million people), Jakarta in Indonesia (26.06 million), Seoul in South Korea (22.55 million) and Delhi in India (22.24 million).