Maynilad allots P616M for 2 Metro projects

West zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services Inc. is spending P616 million to put up two sewage treatment facilities, which will benefit more than 100,000 households in Quezon City and Manila.

Maynilad said it would put up a sewage treatment plant in barangay Sto. Domingo in Quezon City and a treatment plant south of Manila.

“The proper treatment and disposal of wastewater is important to protect the health and sanitation conditions of communities and the environment. We are committed to accelerating our wastewater projects to fulfill our commitment to the government, our customers and the environment,” Maynilad president and CEO Ricky P. Vargas said.

Once completed, the sewage treatment plant will have a capacity of 15,500 cubic meters a day (cmd), allowing it to serve about 25,300 Quezon City households and establishments.

The septage treatment plant will have a treatment capacity of 250 cmd and will be able to serve about 75,000 households annually in Pasay, Parañaque, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa and Cavite.

The plants would also help clear the San Juan River Basin, which empties to major water systems such as the Pasig River and Manila Bay, the company added.

Maynilad, which is led by a joint venture between Metro Pacific Investments Corp. and DMCI Holdings, maintains and operates three wastewater treatment plants and more than 480 kilometers of sewer lines. Additional wastewater facilities were set to be commissioned in the next few months, it said.

For this year, Maynilad said a big chunk of its P8.4-billion capital expenditure (capex) budget for 2012 would be used to fund sewerage and sanitation services and system upgrades.

About P2.7 billion will be used to boost Maynilad’s sewerage and sanitation projects and P1.9 billion is earmarked for the upgrade of key facilities, including pumping stations, water reservoirs and primary lines.

More than P1.6 billion will be spent to lay new pipelines in unserved areas and nearly P1.8 billion will be used for the company’s aggressive nonrevenue water reduction program.

The rest of the 2012 capex budget will be used for the development of water sources, building and warehouse facilities and natural calamity mitigation projects.