THE company behind the bulk water supply project here, Apo Agua Infrastructura Inc., has vowed to the city government that it will start its first part of operations in the first quarter of next year.
At the session of the city council yesterday, Anna Victoria Lu, president of the company, said it has intensified the construction of the project after it took over the construction from its partner, the JV Angeles Construction Corp. (JVACC).
“If we (officials) need to be there to help in digging (in the implementation of the project), we will be there to make sure it happens,” Lu told Councilor Bernard Al-ag as the latter was part of the city council when the project was first presented to the councilors in 2016.
The project was first scheduled to get completed in 2020, but it has faced delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the intramurals among partners that formed the company.
The first of its kind in the country to adopt the water-energy nexus concept, where the output is potable water and hydropower, the project is a P12 billion one which started as an unsolicited proposal that is tapping the Tamugan River, considered as having the best quality among the rivers in the city.
The project is envisioned to address the need for more potable water particularly in the northern elevated parts of the city which at present rely on poor quality of water from the water district or other sources.
Lu also assured Al-ag that the company will hold a monthly report to the city council on the update of the project which is set to fully operate in June next year.
Although the company has taken out the contract for the P12 billion project from its partner, there is still a problem in the partnership.
Lu said that on the liabilities of the JVACC “remain with them” in relation to the project.
Because of the problem, the company took over the contract from its partner and Lu, in a press statement released also on Tuesday, said the project “has resumed construction across civil, mechanical, and electrical works in all areas, including road restoration along the Treated Water Pipeline.
“We have spent the last month completing the takeover of the works from our previous contractor, gaining possession of critical materials and equipment, and mobilizing key construction contractors on site,” she added, pointing out that the company has hired seasoned contractors and that construction activities will be in full capacity next month.
“In addition to this, various contractors with credible track records in bulk water facilities and large-scale complex projects have been engaged in order to implement as many parallel activities as possible,” she added.
Jovana Cresta Duhaylungsod, Davao City Water District spokesperson, also assured the city council that the water district, which will buy the 300 million liters a day, has tested its systems to accept the bulk water supply.
Duhaylungsod added that it has completed all these facilities and these have been constantly tested to prepare for the actual inflow of the bulk water supply project.
The water utility, she added, will still develop 37 production wells between 2022-2030 to ensure that more villages will be supplied, as the operations of the bulk water project will also result in resting some of the 38 Dumoy water wells that are now functioning.
Last week, the councilors criticized the water district after the line serving about 66,000 of its 242,000 customers conked out.
