Vivant unit to complete seawater desalination project

MANILA, Philippines — The water unit of listed Vivant Corp. is completing the country’s first and biggest utility-scale seawater desalination project in Cordova, Cebu by year-end to meet the potable water needs of the province.

In a statement, Isla Mactan-Cordova Corp. (IMCC) said it is set to complete its P2-billion utility-scale seawater desalination project in December.

At 70 percent project completion, the company will begin installing key components for the state-of-the-art seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) technology.

Reverse osmosis is a globally utilized technology to remove salt from the seawater and produce drinking water.

The project aims to address the gap between water demand and supply while allowing severely extracted groundwater aquifers to replenish naturally.

Once completed, the desalination plant can generate 20 million liters a day of potable water in the first phase.

IMCC president and CEO Jess Anthony Garcia pointed out that 20 million liters a day is equivalent to the average daily consumption of 20,000 Filipino households.

He said that the generation capacity of the plant, which is expected to begin commercial operations early next year, can be expanded to 50 million liters a day.

The seawater desalination facility will be operated and managed by IMCC, a subsidiary of Vivant Hydrocore Holdings Inc., which was awarded a 25-year contract to supply desalinated water to the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD).

The project is being constructed by Watermatic Philippines (WMP), a joint venture company of Vivant Corporation and WaterMatic International of Israel, while the project site was provided through a partnership with the municipal government of Cordova.

Lawmakers have lauded the project, which is seen as a step towards a water-secure Philippines, stressing that access to safe and reliable water is an inalienable human right.

In his speech in a recent ceremonial equipment installation of the project, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said that by ensuring uninterrupted access to safe and potable water, the facility will be instrumental in helping Mactan’s continued growth and development while addressing insufficient access to drinking water.

“No household should have to suffer the indignity of unclean water, and the risk of illness and hospital expenses that comes with it,” he said.

Senate deputy minority floor leader Risa Hontiveros said the project would reduce the health risks among Cebuanos which are associated with unclean and inadequate water supply.

“Our communities, and cities, and municipalities like Cordova need clean and sufficient water supplies to ensure that they will continue to be livable and nurturing spaces,” she said.

Hontiveros said the Senate would continue to push legislative reforms and policies that will foster investment and use of environmentally and energy-efficient technologies towards water security like desalination plants and others.