MWSS to bid out Quezon, Bulacan projects in 2013

The Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) is set to bid out, before the year ends, the Kaliwa Low Dam project in Quezon province and the Bulacan Bulk Water Supply project. “The Kaliwa Dam can be bid… towards the end of the year or early next year... [while] the Bulacan Bulk [project’s feasibility study] should be completed around June or July so we can bid it out by the rest of the year,” Ramon Alikpala, MWSS chairman, told reporters on Wednesday at the sidelines of Asian Development Bank's Asia Water Week event. The Kaliwa Low Dam project is a component of the $2-billion New Centennial Water Source project. However, Alikpala noted that the controversial Laiban Dam, which is also a project component of NCWS, has not been scheduled for bidding yet. In total, the NCWS project is expected to generate about 2,300 million liters of water a day (MLD), or about half of Angat Dam's capacity, which produces some 4,000 MLD. According to Alikpala, 97 percent of Metro Manila relies on Angat Dam for water. "We are vulnerable if something happens to Angat [dam]," the MWSS chairman said, pointing out that the NCWS project is the most ''viable'' option at hand. Meanwhile, the Bulacan Water Supply project is expected to reduce the environmental impact of the over-extraction of underground water in the province by shifting to surface water extraction. Alikpala explained the need for a new water source. He added that MWSS is also exploring other alternative water sources including desalination, rainwater harvesting, groundwater recharging and placing turbines in aqueducts. — DVM, GMA News