MWSS sets bidding for Kaliwa Dam

MANILA, Philippines — The Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) is preparing for the bidding for the Kaliwa Dam, the planned newest water source for Metro Manila and nearby provinces that will ensure stable water supply in the next 25 years, with China recommending the contractors.

“We are waiting for the recommendation of the technical working group. Hopefully, we can start the bidding in a month,” MWSS administrator Reynaldo Velasco told reporters during the agency’s 140th anniversary celebration.

Funding for the project will come from an official development assistance (ODA) loan, P10 billion of which will be sourced from the Chinese government.

“That is what the President approved. With Chinese ODA, there will be no more pre-qualification since that was already done by their own embassy. They gave us three and we will assess their performance and they should really have experience in both dam and tunnel buildings,” Velasco said.

 “I already told them [Chinese government] to make sure that the contractors are good because we want it finished before the term of the President ends,” he added.

Located in General Nakar and Infanta in Quezon, the project involves the construction of a dam with a discharge capacity of 600 million liters per day (MLD) and a 27.7-kilometer raw water conveyance tunnel with a design capacity of 2.4 MLD.

The New Centennial Water Source-Kaliwa Dam project had already attracted bidders as early as 2014.

Velasco said MWSS is now forming a technical working group to review an unsolicited proposal submitted by House Minority Leader and Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez for the construction of the Kanan Dam, also located in Quezon.

“Looking at the water security program, we might adopt this one instead of the Laiban Dam. With modern technology, we might opt for the Kanan which is a bigger dam that has a bigger capacity. Laiban is only 1,800 MLD while Kanan is about 3,000 MLD,” he said.

Next to Kaliwa, the MWSS originally targeted the start of construction for the P46-billion Laiban Dam, which is three times bigger than the Kaliwa project, at least before the end of the administration.

“This will be a PPP (public-private partnership).  He [Suarez] has a private partner. Their project is more of hydropower of about 400 megawatts so the water is just a by-product,” Velasco said.