PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan — A joint venture agreement for the construction of a PHP240-million sewage treatment facility here has been signed by the city government and private sector proponents to manage household sewage and wastewater.
Councilor Nesario Awat, chairman of the Sangguniang Panlungsod’s (City Council) legal matters committee, said Monday the joint venture contract was signed by Mayor Lucilo Bayron on Sept. 27 after they gave him authority on behalf of the city government.
“We have given the authority and the endorsement for the project, but we don’t know when it will start,” he said.
The wastewater treatment facility contract was signed by Bayron, Ecosystem Technologies International, Inc. (ESTII) president Robert So, and JCA 1221 Holdings Inc. president Jeremiah Asis at the City Hall.
The development would pave the way for the construction of a “septage, sewerage and sanitation with a learning center project” at the baywalk area in Barangay San Isidro here.
According to a Notice of Publication document obtained by the Philippine News Agency (PNA), the project will be constructed on a 2,000-square-meter land that was reclaimed by the city government under a usufruct agreement.
The city government will share PHP25 million of the total project cost, while the PHP215 million will be apportioned between ESTII and JCA 1221 Holdings for the construction and operation of the facility.
The technology that the proponents will use is a sequence batch reactor (SBR), an active sludge process that uses aeration and biological floc composed of bacteria and protozoa to treat wastewater.
The area for treatment will have three outfalls that will empty into the bay, said the document.
Asis, in a separate interview, said the joint venture project is targeted to begin next year and completed by 2020.
“Mas maaga makapagsimula ng project ay mas maagang matapos. Ang target natin ay maka-start na next year (The earlier the project can start, the better. Our target is to start next year),” he said.
Asis has expressed confidence that the project would be completed in one-and-a-half years to treat wastewater in the city.
With their available technology, he said the impact of water shortage in the city during the dry season can also be addressed.
“It will significantly reduce potable water consumption and it prevents depletion of our water resources. Through the technology, we are capable of providing uninterrupted water service to the public as a solution to the scarcity of water supply experienced in many areas in the country,” he said.
Asis said their process of treating wastewater is more on the bacteriological aspect and will not use other chemicals, except chlorine.
He likewise assured that the fees they will charge will be very reasonable.
Asis is referring to City Ordinance No. 737, which states the PHP2 per cubic meter consumed for the connected customers of the Puerto Princesa City Water District.
He also said that under the law, highly-urbanized cities (HUCs) like Puerto Princesa should already have its own wastewater treatment facility.
“Sa batas ay dapat lahat ng mga highly urbanized cities ng buong bansa ay dapat magkakaroon na ng ganito (Under the country’s law, all HUCs must already have this kind of facility),” he said.
Abygail Villafuerte, also of ESTII, said their company pioneered the SBR and Sequence Bio-Membrane Reactor (SBMR) technologies, among others, allowing biological recovery of multiple sources of contaminated water for reuse.
Their clients include the Capitol Common in Pasig, SM Aura Premiere, the US Embassy, and St. Luke’s Medical Center in Taguig.
Asis’ holding company was also responsible for constructing a wastewater treatment facility on Pamalican Island for the Amanpulo luxury resort in Cuyo, preventing it from discharging untreated water into the sea, she said.
Villafuerte said the plant they constructed in Cebu sometime in 1997 has not required any significant repair in the past 20 years. (Gerardo Reyes, Jr./PNA)
