Manila Water Company: Manila Water submits 5-year Business Plan

Manila Water submits 5-year Business Plan

Posted: Tuesday April 10, 2007

Manila Water recently submitted to the MWSS Regulatory Office its business plan for the East Concession for the next five years beginning 2008 to 2012. While service delivery to its more than 5 million customers has remarkably improved over the last ten years, clearly, significant work still needs to be done to further improve services in the East Zone.

In order to address heightened customer expectations and to meet the increased water demand due to population growth, Manila Water came up with a new service improvement plan anchored on two key programs: the reliability of service delivery to customers, as well as, the expansion of water and wastewater programs to growth areas in the East Zone. The new service improvement plan has the ultimate objective of providing the same level of service to all customers.

The proposed plan is aligned with the programs of the national government, particularly those in the Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan. Moreover, the new service improvement plan took into consideration the development programs and land use plans of all local government units in the East Zone.

Reliability Investment Plan

After making marked improvements in the delivery of services to customers, there is now a need to ensure continued reliability of the network and water supply. The Reliability Investment Plan proposed by Manila Water is geared towards providing customers with uninterrupted water and wastewater services even in the event of natural disasters such as earthquake and typhoons.

The main component of the said plan is to maintain and/or further improve the service levels for current customers, especially those in the Central Distribution System (CDS). This will be made possible by implementing technical projects and maintenance works in water and wastewater facilities, such as treatment plants and pumping stations, as well as, in the network and distribution systems. The usual pipe replacement and/or rehabilitation, meter replacement and Tubig Para Sa Barangay projects make up the core programs under this component.

The reliability of Angat Dam is also a major concern for Metro Manila since it is the only water supply source of Metro Manila. Because of this, the Manila Water Company included several projects to ensure the structural reliability of Angat Dam.

Expansion Investment Plan

Manila Water’s Expansion Investment Plan focuses on addressing both the water and wastewater needs of the currently unserved areas, particularly those in the Rizal Province. While the Company has relatively covered the Central Distribution System in terms of water services, some areas in Taguig, Antipolo, San Mateo and Rodriguez still depend on deepwells for their water supply. In order to address the water demand of these areas, Manila Water proposes a network expansion program to provide surface water supply to these areas.

Another component of the Expansion Investment Plan is the development of new water sources such as the Laiban Dam, Rodriguez Water Treatment Plant and the Rizal Province Water Supply Improvement Project in response to the anticipated increased water demand due to population growth in the East Zone. This component is aligned with the MWSS New Water Sources Road Map.

In terms of wastewater, Manila Water proposes the adoption of the MWSS Wastewater Master Plan which primarily involves the construction of combined sewage-drainage treatment systems. This program will enable the Company to expand sewerage and sanitation services in the East Zone. Currently, only about 10% of the East Concession area is sewered with the rest of the population dependent upon septic tanks.