Manila Water bags new seven-year contract in Saudi Arabia

The Manila Water Company Inc. on Monday said it bagged another seven-year water contract in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia after its first successful bid in December last year.

In an emailed statement, Manila Water said its consortium with French water distributor Saur Group and Saudi’s Miahona Company to undertake the operation of water and environmental treatment services in the eastern cluster of the largest oil producer in the Middle East.

The contract was awarded by Saudi Arabia's state-run National Water Company, and covers a population of 5.27 million and a supply demand of about 1,800 million liters of water per day.

The area coverage includes the cities of Dammam, Al Hofuf, Al Jubail, Al Khobar, Al Qatif, and Hafar Al Batin.

“Our operations beyond the east zone as well as our international operations in the Asia Pacific region also provide us the leverage to better understand and address the needs of foreign markets in providing solutions through an appropriate public private partnership framework,” Manila Water president and chief executive officer Jocot de Dios said in the statement.

Manila Water said the contract is part of Saudi Arabia’s plans to drive the privatization of its water infrastructure sector. The company holds a 30% stake in the consortium.

The Razon-led firm has the exclusive right to provide water and used water services to the east zone of the franchise area of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), which services 23 cities and municipalities in Metro Manila and Rizal.

These include Mandaluyong, Makati, Pasig, Pateros, San Juan, Taguig, Marikina, and parts of Quezon City and Manila. The towns of Angono, Baras, Binangonan, Cainta, Cardona, Jalajala, Morong, Pililia, Rodriguez, Tanay, Taytay, Teresa, San Mateo and Antipolo in the province of Rizal are also part of the East Zone.

Shares in Manila Water closed Monday at P25.00 apiece, up by P1.20 or 5.04% from last Friday’s finish of P23.80.—LDF, GMA News