FAST-TRACKED: Swiss Challenge Begins for Aboitiz’s Bulk Water Proposal

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor 

The Iloilo City Council has approved Aboitiz InfraCapital Inc.’s PHP5 billion bulk water supply project, bringing round‑the‑clock water closer to reality.

In a regular session on Wednesday, June 11, councilors unanimously approved the proposal after a single committee hearing on May 26 by the Committee on Energy and Public Utilities chaired by Councilor Romel Duron.

The approval authorizes Mayor Jerry Treñas to negotiate a contract with AIC outlining terms, parameters and conditions.

It also initiates a 90‑calendar‑day Swiss challenge period for competing private bids.

AIC will invest PHP5 billion to build a water treatment facility to divert 86 million liters per day (MLD) of raw water through an intake structure, process it and supply bulk treated water to city off‑takers.

Off‑takers include Metro Pacific Iloilo Water (MPIW) and South Balibago Waterworks.

AIC will phase delivery, starting with 32 MLD by 2029.

The company proposes a bulk water rate of PHP40 per cubic meter in a business‑to‑business arrangement with MPIW after reducing its initial PHP51.80 bid.

MPIW Chief Operating Officer Angelo David Berba opposed AIC’s entry, saying another private middleman would raise prices.

He argued PHP40 per cubic meter “is a non‑starter” since MPIW expects to deliver desalinated water at PHP20–30 per cubic meter by 2027.

Currently, MPIW charges a domestic rate of PHP22 per cubic meter, with a proposed hike to PHP29.19 pending approval.

AIC countered that desalination power requirements alone cost about PHP27 per cubic meter, not including chemicals and labor.

MPIW also cited a timing issue, as its desalination plant is set to be operational two years before AIC’s planned launch.

But AIC said MPIW’s supply will not bridge the projected water deficit in 2030–31, which its project aims to address.

During the committee hearing, AIC admitted it had not yet secured water rights or a permit to tap water from the Jalaur River Multipurpose Project II (JRMP II), the proposed source of untreated water.

Under the proposal, AIC must secure the permit, but the city government may exercise step‑in rights if AIC fails.

If neither secures the permit, the project will not proceed.

The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) recently declined to “move forward” with AIC’s plan to build JRMP II’s high‑line canal due to conflicts with its existing plans and agreements.

AIC clarified that negotiations with NIA continue and that JRMP II’s canal status does not affect the bulk water project’s viability.