Manila Water formalized its joint venture agreement with the Calasiao Water District for a 25-year project that will improve and expand the provision of water supply in the municipality of Calasiao in Pangasinan.

The public-private partnership (PPP) is set to undertake the development, financing, design, engineering, construction, upgrade, testing, commissioning, operation, management, and maintenance of the water facilities within the service areas of the water district, with the first few years initially focusing on the rehabilitation of the water district’s existing water system.

The joint venture, which is expected to serve more than 95,000 people of 24 barangays, gained an outpouring of support from the local government executives led by Mayor Joseph Arman C. Bauzon who sees the partnership as very significant in boosting the economic potential of Calasiao.

“We believe that with Manila Water as a partner, we will be able to realize our biggest dream of making Calasiao not just one of the premier municipalities, but maybe even one of the premiere cities in Pangasinan. This will not only provide more opportunities for livelihood but more importantly, ensure a better quality of life for our constituents with the provision of sustainable water supply,” said Bauzon.

Calasiao will soon to be the site of the first large-scale mall in the province of Pangasinan and a prime location for a facility plant of a leading beverage company. It is likewise touted as a preferred growth location for other businesses. In the first year, the joint venture will prioritize improvements in barangays Ambuetel, Nagsaing, Doyong, and Lumbang.

Virgilio C. Rivera, Jr., Manila Water Philippine Ventures and Manila Water Asia Pacific President and Chief Executive Officer, expressed his gratitude for the support of the municipality leaders, which he said is the vital element to the successful implementation of the delicate PPP process that requires a lot of stakeholder support. He further affirmed his appreciation to the local government for the opportunity it has given Manila Water to replicate the company’s brand of quality service and good performance in the province of Pangasinan. “We hope that this project will serve as a platform for Manila Water to assist the Province in expanding the provision of water supply through collaboration with other water districts,” Rivera said.

Manila Water commits to establish a service and efficiency level which will be the benchmark in the area and aspire to make Calsiao Water District the best performing water district in Pangasinan. The company will be bringing in 20 years of vast technical experience and customer service expertise to the municipality much in the same way that it significantly transformed water systems through strategic partnerships in multiple locations in the Philippines and the Asian region.

This is Manila Water’s third alliance with a water district in the country, with initial partnerships in 2015 with Zamboanga City Water District for a water network efficiency improvement project and with Tagum City Water District for a bulk water source development project.