Maynilad allots P16.5 billion to reduce NRW level

MANILA, Philippines — West zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services Inc. plans to spend nearly P16.5 billion in the next four years to bring down its water losses to the level set by World Bank by 2027.

In a statement, Maynilad said it has allocated over P10 billion   to pipe replacement projects throughout its concession area over the five-year period.

The water company said majority of the pipe replacement projects are in Manila, Quezon City, and Caloocan where most pipelines are already old and need to be replaced.

Maynilad has also budgeted P5.84 billion for meter management projects, establishment of smaller District Metered Areas (DMA), leak repairs and diagnostic activities.

Meanwhile, the rest of the budget will be used for leak detection equipment and technical services.

“We have dedicated more resources toward the reduction of losses so we can speed up water volume recovery in time for El Niño. We hope that we continue to get the support of the relevant government agencies and local government units in facilitating the release of permits and other requirements needed for our non-revenue water (NRW) projects,” Maynilad COO Randolph Estrellado said.

The World Bank recommends that NRW should be less than 25 percent of the total water produced, which Maynilad targets to reach by 2027.

The water company ended 2022 with a NRW level of 43 percent, from 68 percent in 2006, translating to a water volume recovery of 413 million liters per day (MLD).

This was achieved after replacing 3,083 kilometers of old pipelines and repairing almost 460,000 pipe leaks over the 16-year period.

Around 80 percent of Maynilad’s water losses are due to leaks or physical losses, while the rest are losses due to inaccurate water metering and illegal connections, or commercial losses.

Maynilad is the largest private water concessionaire in the Philippines in terms of customer base.

It is the concessionaire of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) for the west zone of the Greater Manila Area, which is composed of the cities of Manila (certain portions), Quezon City (certain portions), Makati (west of South Super Highway), Caloocan, Pasay, Parañaque, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, Valenzuela, Navotas and Malabon all in Metro Manila; the cities of Cavite, Bacoor and Imus, and the towns of Kawit, Noveleta and Rosario, all in Cavite Province.