Razon unit strengthens exposure in water infrastructure

MANILA, Philippines —  The Razon Group’s joint venture with a privately owned Australian construction company plans to beef up its presence in the water infrastructure space to support its growth in the coming years.

PrimeBMD chief executive officer Sebastian Lacson said the company has set its sights on delivering more critical water infrastructure as part of the group’s expansion.

“That’s the space that we like to play in, which is really the marine and water space,” Lacson told The STAR on the sidelines of a Philippine nuclear trade mission in Toronto last week.

“Our focus projects for this year are really in the water space, water treatment plants, pump stations and also marine facilities such as jetties and ports and the likes. We’re working on those projects now,” he said.

Lacson said the company’s biggest project at present is a 200-million liter per day (MLD) water treatment plant under construction in Laguna.

He said the project is slated for completion by the middle of next year.

In 2022, PrimeBMD was able to successfully deliver the Tayabasan Weir 2 project, the first phase of the Wawa Bulk Water Supply project.

The project involved the design and construction of a dam creating a reservoir and a water transfer for the delivery of 80-MLD of water to Manila Water’s Calawis treatment plant.

PrimeBMD is a joint venture between Razon’s infrastructure arm Prime Infrastructure Holdings Inc. and BMD Group, one of Australia’s largest privately owned construction companies.

“They are very supportive and very bullish on the Philippines and they love the business they have here,” Lacson said, referring to their Australian partner.

“They’re really happy about their presence here. They provide the expertise in the field. We bring in management expertise and access to local markets. It’s a good collaboration,” he said.

PrimeBMD’s expertise includes the construction of roads and bridges, marine infrastructure and dredging services, airport infrastructure, building works, water and wastewater infrastructure, rail infrastructure and commercial/residential land subdivision projects.

PrimeBMD seeks to deliver critical infrastructure that improves the quality of life and supports the development and welfare of host communities.