West Zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services, Inc. (Maynilad) replaced 204 kilometers of old, leaky pipes within the first half of 2017, in line with its program to upgrade the distribution system and reduce water losses.
This brings the total length of pipes replaced within Maynilad’s concession area to 1,913 kilometers—or 47% of the distribution system that the company inherited 10 years ago following the 2007 re-privatization.
For 2017, Maynilad is investing P 2.87 billion to replace a total of 300 kilometers of old, leaky pipes in various portions of its concession area. As of June 30, 2017, pipe replacements completed were in Manila, Quezon City, Paranaque, Caloocan, Muntinlupa and Las Pinas.
By yearend, Maynilad aims to recover some 70 million liters per day (MLD) of potable water from its pipe replacement initiatives alone. This volume is enough to supply the water requirements of about 70,000 customers.
Maynilad expects to generate about 9,000 jobs from its pipe replacement projects in 2017.
“We have to sustain investments in the renewal of Maynilad’s distribution system, which is old and riddled with illegal connections. Through selective pipe replacement, we are able to do this in the most efficient way,†said Maynilad president and CEO Ramoncito S. Fernandez.
Maynilad is the largest private water concessionaire in the Philippines in terms of customer base. It is the agent and contractor of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) for the West Zone of the Greater Manila Area, which is composed of the cities of Manila (certain portions), Quezon City (certain portions), Makati (west of South Super Highway), Caloocan, Pasay, Parañaque, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, Valenzuela, Navotas and Malabon all in Metro Manila; the cities of Cavite, Bacoor and Imus, and the towns of Kawit, Noveleta and Rosario, all in Cavite Province.