DAVAO City Councilor Danilo Dayanghirang expressed concern on the possibility that the Davao City Bulk Water Supply Project's (DCBWSP) might not be able to start supplying water to its consumers in the first quarter of 2021 due to the impact of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
Dayanghirang, who had constantly urged to hasten the construction of the DCBWSP, is aware that the imposed Covid-19 community quarantine had halted the infrastructure project works.
The councilor raised the matter during the 19th City Council regular session on Tuesday, July 21, saying housing, subdivision, and other urban development projects cannot commence due to the uncertainty of the city's water supply.
Davao City Water District (DCWD) previously said it has since suspended its new water service connection application while awaiting for the completion of the bulk water project.
Dayanghirang said housing and subdivision project applicants need to secure connections from DCWD before the City Council would endorse their application. The pandemic has greatly affected these projects, he said.
More than that, he said Apo Agua Infrastructura Inc. (Apo Agua), DCWD's partner of the DCBWSP, should urgently fast-track its construction as the demand for water is increasing.
"I really do not know if they can complete it before 2022," the councilor said.
Meanwhile, in a radio interview on Thursday, July 23, he said they will invite representatives from Apo Apua in the next regular session to get some details and updates on their current construction.
He said the Council will also ask them if they will be able to meet the demand of supplying the entire city beginning 2021.
"We will ask them if apektado ba ang project sa Covid. From there, we will see to it how we can come up with a win-win solution," Dayanghirang said.
With the city now under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ), he hopes that Apo Agua could now start construction works. He added they should have a 24-hour construction.
DCBWSP is a water project that is expected to provide around 300 million liters of water to the consumers once it fully operates in the first quarter of 2021.
The project, worth P12.6 billion, is a strategic infrastructure initiative that will shift the dependence of the city's main water supply from groundwater wells to the more sustainably-sourced surface water from Tamugan River.
SunStar Davao tried contacting Apo Agua for further details on the matter but has not replied as of the writing of the story.
However, in a press release forwarded to SunStar Davao on July 21, Apo Agua is ramping up construction works for the DCBWSP, and is targeting to hire over 3,000 additional workers by November this year.
To date, Apo Agua said they have signed in about 1,500 workers for DCBWSP, bringing the total target manpower requirement to 4,500.
"We are ramping up our construction activities while implementing the appropriate health protocols in our offices and project sites per government guidelines. As we confront the challenges brought by this pandemic, we are set on delivering this project by 2021 while keeping our people's health and safety a priority," Apo Agua Operations head Shake Tuason said in a statement.