Vivant unit to complete P2-B Mactan desalination plant by December
Isla Mactan-Cordova Corporation (IMCC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vivant Hydrocore Holdings Inc., is set to complete the country’s first utility-scale seawater desalination project in Cordova, Mactan by December this year.
In a statement, parent company Vivant Corporation said the P2-billion desalination plant, which can generate 20 million liters a day of potable water in the first phase, will be operated and managed by IMCC which was awarded a 25-year contract to supply desalinated water to the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD).
IMCC President and CEO Jess Anthony Garcia pointed out that 20 million liters a day is equivalent to the average daily consumption of 20,000 Filipino households.
He said that the generation capacity of the plant, which is expected to begin commercial operations early next year, can be expanded to 50 million liters a day.
The project, which is now 70 percent complete, will begin installing key components for the state-of-the-art seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) technology.
Reverse osmosis is a globally utilized technology to remove salt from the seawater and produce drinking water. The project aims to address the gap between water demand and supply while allowing severely extracted groundwater aquifers to replenish naturally.
Plant construction on the project site which was provided through a partnership with the Municipal Government of Cordova, is being undertaken by Watermatic Philippines (WMP), a joint venture company of Vivant Corporation and WaterMatic International of Israel. Israel is a world leader in water production, conservation, and technology.
The desalination plant is seen as a step towards a water-secure Philippines and will be instrumental in helping Mactan’s continued growth and development while addressing insufficient access to drinking water.
The future seawater desalination plant will also reduce the health risks among Cebuanos which are associated with unclean and inadequate water supply.