Gov. Gwen Garcia has started initial talks with Manila Water Co. Inc., represented by chief operating officer Melvin John Tan, on the possibility of entering into another joint venture project.
Manila Water of billionaire Enrique Razon Jr. already has an existing JV deal with the Capitol through the Cebu Manila Water Development Inc. (CMWD). The JV firm extracts 35 million liters of water daily from the Luyang River in Carmen town and supplies the same to the Metropolitan Cebu Water District.
This time, the proposed JV deal is for the operations and maintenance of Capitol-funded bulk water projects across the province.
The initial LGUs involved include Dalaguete, Tuburan, Asturias, Pinamungajan, Aloguinsan, San Remigio, Tabuelan, Sogod, Dumanjug, Ronda, Alcantara, Badian, Ginatilan.
Manila Water is expected to present a formal proposal before the Provincial Economic Enterprise Council headed by Gov. Garcia.
Sugbo News learned that Capitol has already invested for at least 11 bulk water facilities in different parts of the province, out of the 26 planned on the pipeline. It has an initial allocation of P3 billion.
Bulk water development is among the priorities of Gov. Garcia’s infrastructure development agenda, as part of her long-term goal of providing stable water supply to every household in the province.
Also present at the meeting were MCWD officials, led by chairman Lawyer Jose Daluz III. | Carlo Lorenciana