The Asian Development Bank said Friday it approved a $126-million (P6.3 billion) loan to the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System to support the construction of a 15-kilometer water transmission pipeline aimed at helping secure water supply for Metro Manila’s nearly 13 million residents.
It said in a statement the additional financing for the Angat Water Transmission Improvement Project would help strengthen the water system’s downstream transmission capacity. It is a part of the MWSS’s effort to rehabilitate the Umiray–Angat–Ipo dam system which supplies about 90 percent of Metro Manila’s water.
MWSS, a government-owned and -controlled corporation, owns and operates Metro Manila’s bulk water system from which two private concessionaries source, treat and distribute water to customers.
ADB’s Southeast Asia department director of the urban development and water division Vijay Padmanabhan said climate change was making annual rainfall unpredictable, putting tremendous pressure on water resource use.
“The Philippine government is increasing investments in clean infrastructure for environmentally sustainable water resource management across the country. Through this project, ADB is helping the Philippines secure Metro Manila’s water supply,” he said.
The new aqueduct, with a 3.6-meter diameter, will have a welded steel concrete-coated pipe. With cutting-edge technology to help it withstand magnitude 7.2 earthquakes, the project will reduce the risk of a system breakdown and increase the resiliency of Metro Manila’s water supply.