Philippines’s upcoming bulk water supply projects-

Rising water demand, fuelled by the ever-increasing population in the Bulacan province of the Philippines, is posing the challenge of delivering adequate quantity of fresh water to every household. The Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), the agency responsible for supplying water to the province, is unable to meet the growing demand, resulting in an excessive extraction of groundwater through deployment of deep bore wells. The lack of adequate freshwater supply has not only caused inconvenience to citizens but has also imposed a negative externality on the environment by way of depleting groundwater.

The supply of adequate fresh water has become one of the foremost concerns in other provinces in the Philippines. To address these problems, the Philippines government undertook a number of projects to improve water infrastructure such as the construction of the Ipo and Angat dams. However, the projects have not been able to meet the water needs of all the provinces. Hence, the government has proposed undertaking dedicated water supply projects to meet the drinking water requirements of each province. In the past four-five years, a series of projects have been proposed for the development of bulk water supply systems in the Bulacan, Cebu Metro and Davao districts. Most of these projects are being undertaken on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis.

Ongoing bulk water supply projects

The first bulk water supply project in the Philippines, the Carmen Bulk Water Supply Project was implemented in Cebu Metro on a PPP basis. The Cebu Bulk Water Supply Project involved the development and delivery of 35 million litres per day (mld) of potable treated bulk water to several cities and municipalities of Cebu province. The project was commissioned by January 2015 and the Metropolitan Cebu Water District has been receiving 18,000 cubic metres of water per day from the project since then.

Further, in 2013, another bulk water supply projects was sanctioned for Davao City. The Davao City Water District (DCWD), which involves supplying 300 mld of potable water to Davao City, is being implemented by the J.V. Angeles Construction Corporation. The project involves construction of a bulk water treatment facility and the conveyance system for supplying treated bulk water to numerous DCWD delivery points. It is slated to be the country’s first bulk water system with a fully renewable energy-powered water treatment facility. The government of Bohol province has also signed a memorandum of cooperation with USAID for the Bohol Water and Sanitation Project. Latest reports indicate that the construction work on the project will begin by July 2016 and be completed by 2019.

The third project, the Bulacan Bulk Water Supply was conceptualised in 2012 and has recently picked up pace. The PhP 24.4 billion project is planned to be developed in three phases. Over 5.5 cubic metres per second of raw water will be sourced from the Angat dam for the project. Upon completion, approximately 475 mld of treated water will be supplied to the more than 3.4 million population of Bulacan district. The MWSS and the Public-Private Partnership Centre of the Philippines are implementing the project on a build-operate-transfer basis with a concession period of 30 years.

Under the 30-year concession arrangement, the consortium will be responsible for financing, detailed designing and construction, and the operation and maintenance of conveyance facilities, treatment facilities and water source.

The three-stage project will cover the 21 towns and three cities of the province (24 water districts [WDs]). As per the plans, Stages I and II will cover 13 WDs while Stage III will cover the remaining 11 WDs. The project involves several components that include construction of an interconnection structure to the MWSS’s existing Bigte-Novaliches raw water conveyance system to source water. Other works include the construction of WTPs, treated water reservoirs and pumping stations and the installation of supervisory, control and data acquisition system, flow metering devices and appropriate pressure monitoring stations. Apart from these, the private partner will also undertake the construction of access roads, bridges, culverts and river crossings.

After a gap of almost three years, there was some progress in the project. In October 2014, the MWSS invited bids for the project on the basis of an output-based approach. The bids were planned to be awarded to the  consortium quoting the lowest rate.  The project was able to attract bids from five consortiums – First Philippine Holdings and Abeima; Filinvest Development Corporation and Aqua; San Miguel Corporation and Korea Water Resources; Manila Water and Team Polaris; and Prime Water Infrastructure Corporation and Alloy Water. It was finally awarded to the San Miguel Corporation-Korea Water Resources consortium in December 2015. The consortium had offered a rate of PhP 8.5 per cubic metre against a rate of PhP 9.75 and PhP 10.65 per cubic metre quoted by Prime-Alloy Water consortium and Team Polaris and Manila Water consortium respectively. To maintain the economic viability of the project, it was decided that water charges will be inflation rate indexed. However, the water charges will be indexed following the commencement of Stage III of the project.  According to the latest reports, the consortium is likely to commence construction work on the project by end-2016 and complete it by end-2018.

Expected benefits

The Bulacan Bulk Water Supply Project is expected to reduce the usage of deep bore wells that have led to overextraction of groundwater and contamination in many regions of the country. Besides, the project is expected to be a “game changer” in the entire country with respect to water charges. With a rate of 8.5 per cubic metre, a high yardstick will be set for other WDs and private proponents as far as bulk water supply charges are concerned. Upon successful completion, the project will serve as an example to other utilities to learn from and undertake similar initiatives to improve water supply services within their limits. n