By Ben Cal/PNA
MANILA — The Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) announced that San Miguel Corporation’s P24.4-billion Bulacan Bulk Water Supply Project (BBWSP) that will provide steady flow of water for the province of Bulacan, will formally start commercial operations Sunday (January 13).
MWSS Administrator Reynaldo V. Velasco lauded SMC for the early completion of the multi-billion water project, which is the milestone of a public-private partnership (PPP) project of Luzon Clean Water Development Corporation (LCWDC) and K-Water Resources Corporation.
Velasco specifically lauded Ramon S. Ang, chairman and chief executive officer of SMC, for the speedy completion of the flagship project, the first major water project to be completed and inaugurated under the Duterte administration.
He said that President Rodrigo R. Duterte has been invited to inaugurate the BBWPS later this month.
“We congratulate SMC, K-Water and Mr. Ang for the landmark completion of the BBWPS last December 17, one month ahead of its contracted completion,” Velasco said.
“This underscores the good working relations between MWSS and Luzon Clean Water that will surely benefit the people of Bulacan. While the Bulacan Bulk water project was started by the Aquino administration in 2012, it is the first major water project to be completed during Duterte’s term,” he added.
The BBWSP started its dry run operations last December 17, initially giving free water to four areas in Bulacan namely Obando, Meycauayan City, Marilao and Bocaue.
Ang, who is also LCWDC president, said the water project is aimed at providing millions of residents from 24 localities in Bulacan ready access to fresh, potable surface water while balancing the competing needs of a growing population, industry, agriculture, and the environment in the province.”
“The Bulacan Bulk Water is just one of the many projects that SMC has in store under the Duterte administration,” Ang said in a statement to MWSS. “With our financial resources and technical capabilities, we promise to deliver several projects that support our fast economic growth.”
One of these projects include a new international airport to be constructed in Bulacan.
The BBWSP consists of three stages. Stage 1 covers six water districts consisting of San Jose del Monte, Marilao, Meycauayan, Bocaue, Obando and Balagtas while Stage 2 covers seven water districts consisting of Guiguinto, Calumpit, Bulakan, Plaridel, Sta. Maria, Paombong and Malolos.
Meanwhile, the construction of Stage 3 which covers the remaining 11 municipalities of Baliuag, Plaridel, Pandi, Hagonoy, San Rafael, San Miguel, Norzagaray, Angat, Dona Remedios Trinidad, San Ildefonso, and Bustos, has not yet started.
The construction is set to start in the year 2022, or even earlier.
Before the construction of the BBWSP, the province of Bulacan sources their water from deep wells provided by the water districts, which are Government-Owned and Controlled Corporation (GOCC). In recent years, however, the deep wells are slowly running out of water.
