Laguna Water taps DBP, JICA, USAID fund for P1.33-B loan

Laguna Water Corp. on Tuesday said it has signed an omnibus loan and security agreement for P1.33 billion with Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) to partly cover its network modernization and expansion. The secured under the bank's Philippine Water Revolving Fund—a collaboration among the Philippine government, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to meet the need for efficient and sustainable water supply in the Philippines in line with meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDG)—was an offshoot of the P500 million term loan Laguna Water signed with DBP last April. The company is spending P3.7 billion in four years to expand its service network, and intends to finance its requirements through loans and internal funds. The term loan featured the option to increase the amount to P1.33 billion. The subsidiary of Manila Water Inc. said the omnibus loan, signed on April 29, will be disbursed in two tranches, of which P500 million will be released this year and the second tranche of P833 million in 2014. With with funding secured, Laguna Water would be able to achieve universal coverage of the cities of Biñan and Sta. Rosa and more than 50 percent coverage in Cabuyao by 2016, said general manager and chief operating officer Melvin Tan. The company now covers over 30 percent of its concession area, equivalent to 45,000 individual connections for a population of 900,000. It intends to reach 80 percent coverage in 2016 by developing new water sources starting this year. The goal is to achieve 100 percent coverage, equivalent o 112,000 connections by 2020, according to Laguna Water. — VS, GMA News