Aboitiz InfraCapital’s Apo Agua is the country’s first ‘water-energy nexus’ project

Aboitiz InfraCapital Inc. on Tuesday said its Apo Agua development is the first water-energy nexus project in the country.

United States Department of Energy described water-energy nexus as the relationship between water used for energy production and the energy consumed to treat water.

“Our Apo Agua project is unique in the Philippines. It’s basically the conjunction of water and power. It’s called the water-energy nexus,” Aboitiz InfraCapital Inc. and Apo Agua president Roman Azanza III said in a statement.

“Flows of energy and water are intrinsically interconnected, in large part due to the characteristics and properties of water that make it so useful for producing energy and the energy requirements to treat and distribute water for human use,” according to the US DOE.

Apo Agua Infrastructura Inc. is envisioned to provide over 300 million liters of water daily to over a million residents in Davao.

“So, we’re actually using the water we tapped from the Tamugan river to power a 2-megawatt hydroelectric plant which is sufficient to supply all the power needs of our water treatment plant,” Azanza noted.

Apo Agua project is targeted to start operations in the first half of 2021.

Also included in the company’s water portfolio is Lima Water Corporation, which deal in end-to-end bulk water service.

The company provides industrial and potable water with a supply capacity of 8,700 cubic meters to 600 hectares of industrial land. —Jon Viktor Cabuenas/VDS, GMA News