West Zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services, Inc. (Maynilad) will spend nearly P2 billion for pipe replacement alone as part its efforts to upgrade its distribution system and reduce water losses.

In a statement, Maynilad said that it is now targeting to replace a total of 173 kilometers of old, leaky pipes this year despite quarantine restrictions.

The pipe replacement projects, which will cost P1.8 billion to implement, will be done in various portions of Maynilad’s concession area.

Once completed, this will bring the total length of pipes replaced to 2,869 kilometers, or 72 percent of the distribution system that the company inherited over 13 years ago following the 2007 re-privatization.

These pipe replacement activities will also allow Maynilad to recover around 33 million liters per day (MLD) of water,  enough to supply the needs of around 33,000 households.

As of end-March, pipe replacements in Valenzuela, Caloocan, Quezon City, and Las Pinas were already completed.

This includes pipelines that Maynilad had to realign to give way to various government projects such as the construction of MRT 7, among others.

“Our pipe installation activities have lately become more challenging because of quarantine-related mobility restrictions," said Maynilad Chief Operation Officer Randolph T. Estrellado.

“Nevertheless, we persist in implementing these network upgrades, as it will help to reduce water losses and increase water pressure for our customers,” he added.

Maynilad is the largest private water concessionaire in the Philippines in terms of customer base.  It is the concessionaire of the MWSS for the West Zone of the Greater Manila Area, which is composed of the cities of Manila (certain portions), Quezon City (certain portions), Makati (certain portions), Caloocan, Pasay, Parañaque, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, Valenzuela, Navotas and Malabon all in Metro Manila; Cavite City, and the towns of Bacoor, Imus, Kawit, Noveleta and Rosario, all in Cavite Province.