Maynilad Water Services, Inc. (Maynilad) has begun the construction of its P1-billion Pasay Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) in Barangay Malibay, Pasay City. The facility is designed to treat up to 46,600 cubic meters of wastewater per day, which is equivalent to almost 2.5 million five-gallon water containers.
The Pasay STP can serve up to 254,000 people in the cities of Pasay and Makati. Once operational, it will help clear the Maricaban Creek that leads to the Manila Bay.
Partly funded by Maynilad’s World Bank loan, the Pasay STP will use the “Activated Sludge Process (ASP)”—a technology used worldwide for wastewater treatment. But Maynilad used a more compact process for the ASP’s primary treatment to reduce space requirement since the STP is being built on a small area.
“We are driven to look for innovative ways to ensure the proper treatment and disposal of wastewater in our concession area. Our commitment is such that we have allotted the largest portion of this year’s capital expenditure budget to wastewater management for programs aimed to protect the health and sanitation of our customers and the environment,” said Maynilad President and CEO Ricky P. Vargas.
This year, Maynilad allotted nearly half, or P8.2 billion, of its P18-billion CAPEX budget for wastewater management projects. This includes the construction of several sewage and septage treatment plants and conveyance systems in Muntinlupa, Parañaque, Pasay and Valenzuela.
The company’s wastewater management efforts have recently been lauded by the International Water Association (IWA). Its San Antonio and Del Monte STPs were declared as winners of the IWA’s Project Innovation Awards for its innovative design, which compacted wastewater treatment steps to be able to operate on small lots.
Maynilad is the largest private water concessionaire in the Philippines in terms of customer base. It is the concessionaire of the 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.
