MWSS approves Wawa water project
Credit to Author: JORDEENE B. LAGARE| Date: Fri, 24 May 2019 16:23:58 +0000
THE Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) has given Razon-led Prime Metroline Infrastructure Holdings Inc. (Prime Infra) the go-signal to develop its Wawa Bulk Water Supply Project in Rodriguez town, Rizal province to improve Metro Manila’s water supply.
In a statement on Friday, MWSS Chairman Franklin Demonteverde and MWSS Administrator Reynaldo Velasco said the state-run water agency’s board of trustees approved the project during its May 9 and May 22 meetings.
The project “is currently being reviewed by the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC) and the MWSS-Regulatory Office,” they added.
The project — the result of a private offtake agreement between Manila Water Co. Inc. and WawaJVCO, the joint venture of Prime Infra and San Lorenzo Ruiz Builders Group (SLRB) — entails building a water-supply facility at the Wawa catchment area traversing Rodriguez and Antipolo City.
WawaJVCO plans to deliver through the facility at least 80 million liters per day (MLD) of water by 2021 and up to 500 MLD by 2025. The project is expected to serve more than 500,000 households within Manila Water’s franchise area.
Prime Infra President and Chief Operating Officer Guillaume Lucci said last month the company had set a 2020 target for the groundbreaking of the project, which would boost the Ayala-led water firm’s production by about 30 percent.
According to Velasco, the project — considered the largest of its kind under the Duterte administration — will have a minimal impact on the tariff “considering the total systems cost of the treated water is cost-effective compared to other water source options as well the strategic location of the water supply source within the east zone concession.”
The project’s approval came after long-standing legal issues between the MWSS and SLRB — which delayed the project’s implementation for more than 10 years — were resolved.
The issues stemmed from claims made by SLRB’s owner, businessman Oscar Violago, in 2010 that Manila Water, the National Water Resources Board (NWRB) and the MWSS halted their bid to develop the project, despite holding the water rights.
The MWSS had asked the group of Razon and Violago to withdraw the case they filed against the agency before the Court of Appeals or it won’t give the go-signal to proceed with the project. The case was withdrawn earlier this year.
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