Water utility firm Manila Water Co. Inc. and joint venture partners Saur Group of France and Saudi’s Miahona Company bagged another seven-year water contract in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Manila Water said in a disclosure to the stock exchange National Water Company, Saudi Arabia’s state-run water agency, awarded the management, operations and maintenance contract to the consortium to undertake the operation of the water and environmental treatment services in the eastern cluster of Saudi Arabia.
Manila Water president and chief executive Jose Victor Emmanuel de Dios said winning the second water contract in Saudi Arabia put Manila Water and its partners in a strong competitive position when the same management contracts are converted into long-term concessions.
“We are extremely elated with this new international expansion as Manila Water gears up its vision of becoming a global Filipino water company whose operation and management expertise is now being recognized in the industry worldwide,” de Dios said.
“Manila Water will bring in 24 years of experience and knowhow in the water space to provide innovative solutions to the water and wastewater requirements in a region whose population and demand are almost comparable to our existing concession area in eastern Metro Manila and Rizal Province,” he said.
Manila Water won in December the bid for its first project in Saudi Arabia which involves a seven-year agreement to manage and implement improvement initiatives for the water and wastewater systems of the northwest cluster.
This cluster is one of six regional clusters created under Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and National Water Strategy which restructures the water distribution services and engages private sector participation.
Manila Water Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd. has water supply projects in Vietnam and also has associates in Thailand and Indonesia through Eastern Water Resources Development and Management Public Company Limited.
The share price of Manila Water jumped 3.26 percent Friday to close at P23.75.