Filinvest utility arm lands 25-year Metro Cebu water supply deal

Gotianun-led Filinvest Development Corp.’s FDC Utilities Inc. (FDCUI) secured a 25-year bulk water supply deal with the Metro Cebu Water District (MCWD).

In a statement, FDCUI said its wholly-owned subsidiary, FDC Water Utilities Inc., was given a notice of award by the MCWD for its unsolicited proposal to put up desalination plants to supply potable water to Cebu City, Lapu-Lapu City, and Talisay City.

FDCUI added that FDC Water Utilities obtained the deal following its success in the competitive challenge process as prescribed by the 2013 National Economic and Development Authority Joint Venture Guidelines between government and private entities that allow third parties to submit comparative proposals.

Desalination facilities, which are FDC Water Utilities’ flagship projects, will utilize seawater to be processed using the High Recovery Seawater Desalination Technology of its technical partner, Hitachi Ltd., Japan, the company said.

The facilities will provide MCWD a combined 80 million liters per day of high-quality potable water.

"The Filinvest Group's entry into the sustainable water space is anchored on the company's commitment to bring further significant socio-economic impact in the communities where it conducts its business. Our collaboration with MCWD promotes long-term solutions to the water requirements of Metro Cebu,” said FDCUI chief executive officer and president Juan Eugenio Roxas.

"Cebu is an island surrounded by the sea, tapping its abundant water source will provide access to water of the appropriate quality and quantity, allowing MCWD to close the gap on its supply deficiency,” Roxas said.

MCWD chairman Jose Daluz said the project was vital to augment supply insufficiency saying, "we need to address the increasing water supply gap through an intervening solution which is desalination."

The company said the project comes at a critical juncture in which investments in clean water supply systems are a top priority to mitigate the adverse effects of the coronavirus outbreak and where water demand continues to grow amid post-pandemic economic recovery.

Once completed, the projects will benefit thousands of households as well as the water requirements of various commercial and industrial establishments within MCWD's service area. — DVM, GMA News