Maynilad spending P6 billion for new treatment plants

MANILA, Philippines — West zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services Inc. is allocating nearly P6 billion to put up four more treatment plants that will convert used water to drinking water.

“We have budgeted P5.7 billion to produce 97 million liters per day (MLD),” Maynilad president and CEO Ramoncito Fernandez said in an interview last week.

The 97-MLD capacity will be produced by the New Water Treatment Plants lined up in Pasay, Muntinlupa, Parañaque and Valenzuela.

Fernandez said these four projects would be built in phases along with their respective wastewater treatment plants.

“Currently being constructed is the one in Valenzuela, which will be finished by the end of the year. And then next year will be Pasay,” he said.

Last month, Maynilad secured a permanent operational permit from the Department of Health (DOH) for its New Water Treatment Plant in Parañaque City.

This is the water company’s first implementation of direct potable water reuse in the Philippines. It aims to generate additional water supply in response to growing demand.

The facility, which converts used water to drinking water, was granted the permit after eight months of stringent monitoring by the DOH–Metro Manila Center for Health Development (MMCHD).

With the pilot project securing necessary permits, Maynilad hopes to obtain the same permits faster for its new projects.

“This the first of its kind in the Philippines and in Asia that is direct potable reuse. In our first project, we had challenges in convincing everyone. We conducted surveys before getting public acceptance,” Fernandez said.

“Now that we’ve proven that it’s safe, that it can be done scientifically, we hope for a quicker adoption for the other facilities,” he said.

Maynilad’s Parañaque New Water Treatment Plant receives treated used water from a sewage treatment plant (STP) and converts it into potable water that meets the Philippine National Standards for Drinking Water (PNSDW).

It started operating on Oct. 24, 2022 after it was granted a conditional operational permit by the DOH-MMCHD.

During the monitoring period, it had to consistently passed stringent monitoring of PNSDW compliance.

This facility, which currently serves two barangays in Parañaque City, was recently cited as “Water Reuse Project of the Year” at the prestigious Global Water Awards for moving the industry forward through innovative technology adoption.

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

Its concession area covers 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.