(From L to R) Joseph Jacob, representing Tubig Pilipinas Group Inc., Arlene Villaroel ALV Solutions Corporation Chief Executive Officer, Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes, ALV Director
John Dominic Perez and Mandaue City Vice Mayor Glenn Bercede sign the Joint Venture Agreement on Thursday, March 17, 2022
MANDAUE CITY, Philippines — Mandaue City residents can expect a cheaper price of potable water as the first desalination plant in Metro Cebu will be built in the city.
The City of Mandaue headed by Mayor Jonas Cortes, ALV Water Solution Corporation, and Tubig Pilipinas Group Incorporated signed a joint venture agreement in Mandaue City on Thursday, March 17, 2021.
The companies will establish a water desalination plant and a wastewater facility in the city’s lot at the Green Learning Park in Barangay Umapad. They leased the 4.4 hectares lot for 35 years.
When completed it will initially serve 8 Mandaue City barangays that will include Centro, Alang-Alang, Umapad, Cambaro, Looc, Opao, among others.
The wastewater facility, on the other hand, will cover the city’s 27 barangays.
The venture aims to provide unhampered access to safe and potable water for the unserved and underserved residents of Mandaue City.
Mayor Jonas Cortes said that there are still areas in the city that have not been served by the Metropolitan Cebu Water District.
The desalination plant and wastewater facility are targeted to be completed within three years.
Desalination uses water from the sea, it will then undergo several stages like filtration, among others before it will go down to the system that will be distributed to the households.
Arlene Villarroel, ALV Water Solutions Corporation Chief Executive Officer, assured that their state-of-the-art desalination process will kill 99.9 percent of microorganisms.
Cortes said the joint venture will address the city’s water needs and maximize the use of saltwater in the city. He added that the project will help with the city’s seawater intrusion problem which is the movement of saline water into freshwater aquifers, which can lead to groundwater quality degradation including drinking water sources.
Cortes said the wastewater treatment will also help protect the environment.
“This will (help) protect our environment, ang nahitabo karun ang atoang waste, waste water, wala na muagi sa septic tanks ang nahitabo ana diretso sa Mactan Channel, we are polluting atoang mga kadagatan, Mandaue City is going to be the first LGU (Metro Cebu) nga mubuhat ani nga lakang, though this is dako kaayo nga proyekto but is worth venturing para sa next generations to come,” said Cortes.
Villaroel assured that consumers can expect an affordable or cheaper price of water none the project is completed.
“We assured them that it’s gonna be economical and cheaper and we will have a 24/7 supply,” said Villaroel. /rcg
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