Manila Water pipelines P198 billion capex until 2037

MANILA, Philippines — East zone concessionaire Manila Water Co. Inc. has earmarked P197.8 billion for its capital expenditures until 2037, bulk of which will be used to fund its used water management initiatives.

The company said a total of P115.2 billion would be allocated for its used water management efforts, while the remaining P82.6 billion would be used for its water supply business.

Under its used water master plan, the company is targeting full sewerage service coverage of the east zone by 2037.

“As indicated in its latest approved business plan (ABP) for the rate rebasing period ending 2018, part of the expenditures will fund the construction of system projects covering 11 sub-catchment areas,” Manila Water said.

It added that the projects would be implemented in two or three phases.

Of the used water capex, Manila Water said it would spend P38.4 billion until 2022 to complete seven used water projects.

This will result in a 38 percent sewerage coverage of the entire concession area.

At present, the company has a 22 percent coverage in its concession.

“The sewage treatment plants (STPs) to be built for these system projects are designed to cumulatively collect and treat up to almost 950 million liters per day (MLD) of wastewater from 7.5 million population in the East Zone by 2037,” Manila Water said.

Manila Water said the targetted capex also covers the rehabilitation of existing sewer lines and the upgrade of currently operating STPs to comply with the recently released DAO 2016-8 standards by the DENR for biological nutrient removal in the wastewater treatment process.

The company currently operates 38 STPs and two septage treatment plants with a total capacity of 310 MLD, designed to serve 22 percent of total water service connections.

Coverage in terms of sewer connection is currently at 15 percent, serving a population of over 553,061 while desludging services covered a total of more than 1.3 million population in 2018 from cleaning and emptying 112,836 septic tanks.

For ongoing wastewater infrastructure projects, nearing its completion is the Ilugin Sewage Treatment Plant to serve the sub-catchment area of North and South Pasig, covering communities in and around Pasig City.

The 100-MLD capacity STP and its sewerage system will serve up to 765,000 households once completed. The STP is expected to be operational by 2020.

The company has invested a total of P33 billion in wastewater infrastructure from 1997 to 2018.