Isla Mactan-Cordova Corp. (IMCC) said Wednesday it expects to complete the country’s first utility-scale seawater desalination project in Mactan, Cebu at a cost of P2 billion in December.
IMCC, a subsidiary of Vivant Hydrocore Holdings Inc., will operate and manage the desalination plant in Cordova town, which can generate 20 million liters a day of potable water in the first phase.
IMCC was awarded a 25-year contract to supply desalinated water to the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD).
IMCC president and chief executive Jess Anthony Garcia said the plant’s generation capacity is equivalent to the average daily consumption of 20,000 Filipino households.
He said the plant, which would begin commercial operations next year after testing and commissioning, could be expanded to 50 million liters a day.
The project is already 70-percent complete, with key components for the state-of-the-art seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) technology set to be installed.
Reverse osmosis is a globally utilized technology to remove salt from the seawater and produce drinking water.
The project aims to address the gap between water demand and supply while allowing severely extracted groundwater aquifers to replenish naturally.
Plant construction is being undertaken by Watermatic Philippines (WMP), a joint venture company of Vivant Corp. and WaterMatic International of Israel. Israel is a world leader in water production, conservation and technology.
The site was provided through a partnership with the municipal government of Cordova.
Two senators said the desalination plant is a step towards a water-secure Philippines.
Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said that by ensuring uninterrupted access to safe and potable water, the future plant would be instrumental in helping Mactan’s continued growth and development while addressing insufficient access to drinking water.
Senator Risa Hontiveros-Baraque expressed hope the seawater desalination plant would reduce the health risks among Cebuanos which are associated with unclean and inadequate water supply.