Manila Water bags Calbayog deal

Ayala-led Manila Water Co., Inc. has been awarded the contract to provide water and wastewater services in Calbayog City.

In a regulatory filing early today, Manila Water disclosed that it had received the Notice of Award from the Calbayog City Water District (CCWD) for the implementation of an integrated water supply and sanitation project, to be carried out under a joint venture framework.

The contract covers the design, construction, rehabilitation, operation, maintenance, financing, expansion, and management of water and wastewater systems in the city of Calbayog, as well as other areas which may eventually form part of the service coverage of CCWD in the Province of Samar.

Manila Water intends to form a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) with its local partner, Tubig Pilipinas Group, Inc., to implement the project with an estimated CAPEX of P1.2B under a contractual joint venture with CCWD.

The joint venture agreement will grant the SPV the exclusive right to manage, operate, maintain, repair, refurbish and improve, expand and as appropriate, decommission, the facilities of CCWD. The SPV shall also be given the right to bill and collect tariff for the provision of water supply and sanitation services in the service area.

Calbayog City serves as the commercial and industrial center of the province of Western Samar. It has a total estimated population of 194,000. As of 2017, CCWD has 13,097 water service connections, with a service coverage of only 32% and an effective water tariff of Php 39.4/cum. The project has a potential billed volume of about 30 million liters per day.