Udenna, 6 others investing on desal plants in Cebu

AROUND seven firms, including a firm owned by a Davao City-based businessman, are set to establish desalination plants in Metro Cebu by 2023.

The Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) hopes that the seven firms can provide abundant water supply through desalination and ground well extraction projects in Metro Cebu.

Lawyer Joey Daluz III, MCWD Board chairman, said they are working on seven desalination projects which already underwent biddings and are already awarded to private companies to address the current water crisis experienced by most of the customers.

This will also solve the suspension of water application existing since February last year.

The biggest desalination project by Udenna Corp. will be constructed in Consolacion that can supply 60 megaliters per day (MLD) or 60,000 cubic meters (cbm) per day. Udenna is owned by Davao City-based businessman Dennis Uy.

The consortium between FDC Utilities and Hitachi Limited are also set to construct desalination plants at the South Road Properties (SRP) in Cebu City and in Lapu-Lapu City. The consortium aims to provide 30 MLD or 30,000 cbm per day from each area.

Another consortium between the Aboitiz Group and the Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) are also set to construct a desalination plant in Talisay City.

Power-based firm Vivant, through its Vivant Hydrocore Holdings Inc. (VHHI), is also set to construct a desalination plant in Cordova that can supply 20 MLD or 20,000 cbm per day.

BT Works will establish a desalination project in Barangay Inayawan, Cebu City and that can produce around 30 MLD or 30,000 cbm per day; and Pilipinas Water Resources Inc. (PWRI) will construct a desalination plant in Canjulao, Lapu-Lapu City which can supply 30 MLD or 30,000 cbm per day.

Daluz said the contracts they have entered with these firms won’t put MCWD at risk as they only committed to buy water from these desalination projects.

Daluz admitted that while they are expensive and take more time to process, they need to have more desalination projects as Cebu’s surface water sources are not viable as they are contaminated with nitrate due to over extraction of groundwater by other big establishments.

He further admits that MCWD is currently facing many problems in relation to its current water supply since its ongoing contracts with its bulkwater suppliers in Carmen town and Danao City have stopped supplying water to them.

From 2010 to 2020, MCWD supplied only 35 MLD but the demand for water was up to at least 38 MLD.