Maynilad Water Services, Inc. (Maynilad), the government water concessionaire for the West Zone, said it will cost them P29 billion to build several sewage treatment plants (STP) across the metropolis.
In a statement, Maynilad said that it is now simultaneously building several STPs in Caloocan, Las Piñas, Central Manila, Valenzuela, and Muntinlupa.
Based on the company’s estimates, the CAMANA (Caloocan-Malabon-Navotas) and Las Piñas Water Reclamation Facilities will contribute around 16 percent additional sewerage coverage in the West Zone with a target completion date in 2025.
Under the 2008 writ of continuing mandamus issued by the Supreme Court, the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) concessionaire, is required to improve and expand its sewerage services to ensure that all the wastewater being released to Manila Bay have been treated properly.
“Expanding wastewater services is a long and arduous process requiring massive investments and constant coordination with LGUs affected by our pipe-laying activities,” Maynilad President and CEO Ramoncito S. Fernandez said.
“Nevertheless, we have a comprehensive wastewater management plan in place, and its completion will ensure full sewerage coverage in our concession area which will help to considerably reduce the pollution load into Manila Bay,” he added.
Maynilad is also currently building STPs in Barangays Cupang and Tunasan in Muntinlupa and Barangay Marulas in Valenzuela, which are targeted for completion within the year, and in Ayala Southvale in Muntinlupa.
“These projects are part of our commitment to protect the environment by making sure effluents meet legal standards. On top of these, we also spend much more on projects to provide clean and potable water to our more than 9 million customers,” Fernandez said.
For areas that have yet to be covered by STPs, Maynilad has been expanding its fleet of vacuum trucks units (VTU) that offer septic tank cleaning. The company now has 110 VTUs, up from only 32 VTUs in 2007 when it took over the West Zone.
Maynilad also operates 22 wastewater treatment facilities—up from only two in 2007 when the company was re-privatized—with a combined treatment capacity of around 664,000 cubic meters of wastewater per day.
On Tuesday, May 11, Maynilad also started preparing for the construction of its new P10-billion water treatment plant in Poblacion, Muntinlupa.
But due to the pandemic, the company had to push the target completion date for the project to the latter part of 2023 due to pandemic-triggered delays.
The P10-billion treatment plant, which will draw water from Laguna Lake, is part of Maynilad’s medium-term plan to produce additional supply to meet the growing water demand in Metro Manila and nearby areas. It will also ease over-reliance on Angat Dam. Angat Dam is currently the only major water supply source for Metro Manila and nearby provinces.
The plant is going to be Maynilad's third facility to be built in the area since the company began tapping and treating water from the Laguna Lake– the largest lake in the Philippines – in 2010.
Designed to produce 150 million liters per day (MLD) of potable water, Maynilad’s new treatment facility will primarily serve Cavite areas, and also other areas south of the West Zone concession.
It was originally set for completion by 2022 but quarantine restrictions affecting the mobility of workers have forced Maynilad to push back its target completion date to the latter part of 2023, the company said.
Maynilad currently has two treatment facilities in Muntinlupa, producing a combined output of 300 MLD and serving around 1.2 million customers in the southern part of its concession.
Once the Poblacion facility is completed, Maynilad will have a total of five water treatment plants catering to the West Zone.
An earlier report showed that the company is also considering building its fourth plant that will also draw water from Laguna Lake as part of its contingency measures in case the massive Kaliwa Dam project will not push through.
Located in the provinces of Rizal and Quezon, the P12-billion Kaliwa Dam project has been pegged by the Duterte Administration as the top solution to Metro Manila’s recurring water supply woes.