SINCE its re-privatization in 2007, west zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services, Inc. has spent about P17.3 billion to replace almost 2,600 kilometers of old and leaky pipes, the company said on Sunday.
“There is a need to sustain investments in the rehabilitation and replacement of the deteriorated pipes that Maynilad inherited. This is essential to prevent further loss of water, avoid water contamination, and increase water pressure for our customers,” said Ramoncito S. Fernandez, Maynilad president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.
The replaced pipe’s length accounts for 64% of the water distribution network that Maynilad inherited when it took over. The company described the replaced pipe’s length to be about the same as the distance between Manila and Seoul, South Korea.
The pipe network in the west zone is said to be the oldest water system in Asia, some portions of which date back to the Spanish era.
Last year alone, the company replaced 314 kilometers of old pipes in portions of Caloocan, Quezon City, Parañaque, Muntinlupa, and Imus in Cavite. The replacement projects involved an investment of P2.4 billion, allowing it to recover some 35 million liters of water per day, which is enough to supply around 60,000 households.
Pipe replacement is a component of Maynilad’s non-revenue water reduction program, which include activities such as active leakage control, network diagnostics, meter replacements, and district meter area management.
Maynilad is the country’s largest private water concessionaire in terms of customer base. It is the agent and contractor of state-led Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) for greater Metro Manila’s west zone.
The company serves certain portions of the cities of Manila and Quezon, the side of Makati City west of South Super Highway, and other Metro Manila towns Caloocan, Pasay, Parañaque, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, Valenzuela, Navotas and Malabon.
Maynilad also supplies water to the cities of Cavite, Bacoor and Imus, and the towns of Kawit, Noveleta and Rosario, all in Cavite province.
Metro Pacific Investments Corp., which has majority stake in Maynilad, is one of three Philippine units of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being Philex Mining Corp. and PLDT Inc. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls.
