Wawa project 30% complete

MANILA, Philippines — Antipolo, Rizal–Wawa JVCo Inc., the joint venture of Razon-led Prime Infrastructure Capital Inc. and Violago-owned San Lorenzo Ruiz Builders and Developers Group is on track to complete phase 2 of its P26-billion Wawa bulk water supply project by 2025 with already 30 percent constructed.

“There’s a larger project that is already ongoing, about 30 percent progress. Our intention is to complete that by 2025,”

WawaJVCo president Melvin John Tan said on the sidelines of the inauguration of the first phase of the Wawa water supply project.

In his speech, Prime Infra chairman Enrique Razon Jr. said WawaJVCo has secured the approval of the Indigenous People of Antipolo and Rodriguez for the second phase of the project, the Upper Wawa Dam.

The approval is the fourth and final memorandum of agreement in the Free and Prior, Informed Consent (FPIC) Process for the project.

Razon said the company has also received the certificate precondition from the NCIP, certifying that the FPIC process has been complied with by the company, and the communities have given their consent to the project.

“The river diversion will minimize risk of construction execution as it allows WawaJVCo to start construction of the main dam body by December 2022, enable work through the wet season, and complete the project on schedule by 2025,” Razon said.

The Wawa bulk water project is one of the national government’s infrastructure flagship projects.

WawaJVCo completed phase 1 of the project the Tayabasan Weir, in May ahead of its October target.

The water project’s phase 1 comprises three parts: the weir where water is impounded, the pumping station that brings the bulk water to the water treatment plant, and the buried water pipeline where the bulk water passes to get to the water treatment plant.

Providing ample water supply to Metro Manila and the province of Rizal, the Tayabasan Weir is a 25-meter-high roller compacted concrete structure designed to deliver 80 million liters per day (MLD) to offtaker Manila Water Co. Inc. and Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS).

Meanwhile, phase 2 of the project will deliver at least 518 MLD of water to over 500,000 households in the east zone concession area once completed in 2025.

The project will also help mitigate recurring flood issues in the lower areas of Rizal province, Marikina City and Pasig City.

In his speech, San Lorenzo Builders chairman and CEO Oscar Violago said his vision for the Wawa River took 29 years before it became a reality.

“When I applied for water rights in 1993, nobody believed me. Through those years, I found and encountered so many opposition,” he said.