2 days ago
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West zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services Inc. continues to slowly reduce its double-digit non-revenue water (NRW) that remains at 39 percent, with less than 70 percent of old pipes replaced, according to Maynilad president and CEO Ramoncito Fernandez.
Non-revenue water is defined as water that has been treated, pumped and distributed, but is not sold to a customer, resulting in a loss of potential income for the water utility.
In a chance interview, Fernandez explained the difficulties that Maynilad has had to face as soon as it took over the west water utility concession that was initially won by the Lopez Group from the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System, better known as MWSS, which had privatized the government-owned water utility in 1996 and split it to two separate concessions.
The Lopez Group operated the west zone concession from 1997 to 2007. It eventually sold its concession to the group of Manuel V. Pangilinan, while the east zone concession was taken over by the Ayala Group.
The Lopezes, Fernandez said, during those initial years were saddled with servicing about 80 percent of foreign debts which they inherited when they won the concession. To add to that burden was the foreign exchange crisis, thus focusing early efforts of the Lopez Group on the finances of the newly formed Maynilad Water Services.
However, the Lopezes eventually sold their stake to the group of Pangilinan in 2007 to focus on their other businesses.
Only then did the Pangilinan group start expanding and replacing pipes, Fernandez said, stressing “it is not easy to replace pipes. We have to dig in the very busy Manila and metropolitan roads.”
They also have to deal with rampant and continuing illegal piping by illegal settlers that is the bane of old Manila. As such, Fernandez admits that Maynilad is at least 10 years behind the Ayala-led east concessionaire Manila Water in terms of replacing and expanding its existing water pipes as the east zone concessionaire was able to immediately start replacing old pipes and expanding into less populated areas much earlier.
Maynilad reported that last year it executed P25.75 billion worth of projects to enhance water and wastewater services. Of the amount, P7 billion was allocated to improve the sewerage system. These included the construction and upgrade of wastewater facilities to benefit thousands of customers.
Among these projects is the ongoing construction of the Caloocan Water Reclamation Facility and the Las Piñas WRF, both of which commenced last year.
Maynilad also upgraded seven wastewater treatment facilities in Muntinlupa, Pasay, Quezon City and Manila to comply with DAO 2021-19, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ (DENR) stricter wastewater treatment standards.
Additionally, P6 billion was dedicated to Maynilad’s NRW reduction program, which included the replacement of 142 kilometers of aging pipes, resulting in the recovery of 158 million liters of water per day (MLD), improving distribution efficiency and reducing water losses.
Another P6.5 billion was invested in the construction and rehabilitation of key water facilities, including the Poblacion Water Treatment Plant in Muntinlupa and the Parada Pumping Station in Valenzuela.
Maynilad also expanded its pipeline network across the west zone, including laying pipelines in Morong, Rizal, in preparation for future water supply from the Kaliwa Dam. According to Fernandez, development of the Kaliwa Dam has been delayed by the issuance of permits. Fortunately, he said, some tunneling work has started.
Furthermore, Maynilad recently reported that P4.4 billion was allocated to developing small-scale water treatment facilities that tap alternative sources, such as dams and rivers in Cavite province.
Maynilad is the largest private water concessionaire of the MWSS in the Philippines in terms of customer base. Its service area includes the cities of Manila (all but portions of San Andres and Sta. Ana); Quezon City (west of San Juan River, West Avenue, EDSA, Congressional, Mindanao Avenue, the northern part starting from the districts of Holy Spirit and Batasan Hills); Makati (west of South Super Highway); Caloocan, Pasay, Parañaque, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, Valenzuela, Navotas and Malabon, all in Metro Manila; and the cities of Cavite, Bacoor and Imus, and the municipalities of Kawit, Noveleta and Rosario, all in the province of Cavite.
The east zone concession controlled by the Ayala Group is a 1,400-square-kilometer area that covers 23 cities and municipalities in Metro Manila and Rizal. These include Mandaluyong, Makati, Pasig, Pateros, San Juan, Taguig, Marikina and parts of Quezon City and Manila. The towns of Angono, Baras, Binangonan, Cainta, Cardona, Jalajala, Morong, Pililia, Rodriguez, Tanay, Taytay, Teresa, San Mateo and Antipolo in the province of Rizal are also part of the east zone.
Maynilad had previously announced that it would spend P2.7 billion for the period 2023 to 2027 for its NRW management program in Manila alone, where water loss is highest due to an aging pipe network and rampant illegal connections.
Of the said amount, P2.4 billion was earmarked for pipe replacement projects, while P151 million would be for leak repairs. The remaining P190 million was for network diagnostics and leak detection, among other activities.
Maynilad COO Randolph Estrellado had explained that Manila has the oldest section of the pipe network. To reduce water losses in the area, Maynilad has replaced 701 kilometers of old pipes since 2007.
The P2.7-billion allocation for Manila is part of the P16.5-billion NRW management program of Maynilad for 2023 to 2027. According to Fernandez, “we are on track to spend what we have committed. So, we’re in our third year na.”
