The Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) that was used to construct the Novaliches-Balara Aqueduct 4 (NBAQ4) has completed its work as it emerges at the La Mesa Reservoir this August. Launched at the Balara Treatment Plant 2 on January 28, 2020, the TBM “Dalisay” laid a 7.3-kilometer long, 3.1-meter diameter pipe underneath Commonwealth Avenue without inconvenience to traffic. This project is the first to use this technology in Metro Manila. The Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) used a similar machine for constructing Tunnel 4 of the Angat Water Tunnel Improvement Project (AWTIP) in Norzagaray, Bulacan. In a ceremony held to celebrate this milestone, guests onsite and those that attended through Zoom witnessed the exposure of Dalisay’s cutter head from the soft concrete at the exit shaft at the La Mesa Reservoir (photo above).