Aqua Atlas vies for $65-M water project in Cebu

By Christine A. GaylicanInquirer Last updated 11:27pm (Mla time) 07/30/2006
Published on Page B6 of the July 31, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

http://business.inq7.net/money/topstories/view_article.php?article_id=12574

THE WATER SUBSIDIARY OF Anglo Philippine Holdings Corp., Aqua Atlas Inc., is negotiating with the provincial government of Cebu for a $65-million bulk water supply project that will address the increasing water requirement of the province.

Anglo Philippine Holdings chair Alfredo C. Ramos said during the company's annual stockholders meeting Friday that Aqua Atlas Inc. and the provincial government of Cebu were in talks for the supply of some 100,000 cubic meters of water a day to the Metro Cebu Water District.

Ramos said this project was expected to boost water supply to Metro Cebu by at least 40 percent.

The province of Cebu is currently experiencing a shortage in its potable water supply and is threatened by a possible salt water intrusion into its water supply in the near term.

Ramos said this project of Aqua Atlas would complement the Ayala Group's proposal to build the Carmen Bulk Water Supply project also in Cebu.

Preliminary discussions indicate that Aqua Atlas will supply the towns in the northern part of Cebu and the Ayala consortium, led by Manila Water Company Inc., will cover the southern part, Ramos added.

He said Aqua Atlas and the local government of Cebu had signed a memorandum of agreement providing for the holding of negotiations on the project. "This encourages Aqua Atlas to move forward and pursue further discussions," he added.

The water supply for the project will come from the company's Atlas Dam in Cebu. Under the prospective project, the company will install a pipe distribution network.

Of the estimated project cost, he said some $40 million would be earmarked for the water supply and the remaining $25 million would be spent for the installation of the pipe distribution network. The project will be financed through a combination of internally generated funds and from loans.