Recto offers stimulus fund for SMC's Laiban Dam project

MANILA, Philippines - Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ralph Recto urged San Miguel Corp., Southeast Asia’s largest food and beverage conglomerate to tap the government’s economic stimulus package for its planned Laiban Dam project.

Recto said the government needs all the help it can get to stimulate the economy through various infrastructure projects. Investing in these infrastructure projects is key to helping the economy cope with the negative impact of the global financial turmoil, he said.

Recto said the government has already put in place the mechanism for its P300-billion Economic Resiliency Plan.

The resiliency plan hopes to ensure that the government would meet its revised economic growth target for 2009 of 3.7 percent to 4.4 percent, downscaled from the previous projection of 3.7 percent to 4.7 percent.

The idea is for private firms to tap the fund for their financing needs.

“SMC could tap that fund for Laiban,” Recto said.

He said the development of Laiban Dam is a crucial infrastructure project that would help improve water supply in the country.

The Socioeconomic Planning chief said the mechanisms on how to utilize the fund are already in place.

SMC’s wholly-owned subsidiary San Miguel Bulk Water Co. Inc. (SMBWCI) has submitted to the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System an unsolicited proposal for a joint venture project to develop Laiban Dam.

San Miguel said SMBWCI and its foreign partner will enter into a cooperative joint venture with MWSS to secure financing, construct, operate and maintain the project.

The plan for project will include the construction of the dam and headworks, raw water conveyance facilities, water treatment plant, hydropower plant, treated water conveyance facilities, pumping stations, storage facilities and offtake points.

“The Laiban Dam Project, located in Tanay, Rizal is intended to address the long-term water requirements of Metro Manila and to provide stability and security to the water supply source,” San Miguel had said.

The plan to develop Laiban Dam is part of San Miguel’s move to invest in strategic industries such as power, oil and gas, and water.

According to documents from the NEDA, the construction of the Laiban Dam project will amount to about P48 billion.

The project will develop a raw water dam and other structures with a capacity of 1,830 million liters daily. The project is seen to benefit 5.5-million people.