A MODERN wastewater treatment facility will be constructed in Cebu City through a P1 billion grant from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica), which would mean additional income for the City Government and the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD).
The operation of the facility would also mean additional water supply for the water district, which can be supplied to fire trucks and for other non-household use.
The facility will be constructed on a Cebu City-owned lot at the North Reclamation Area, where the City’s sewage treatment plant is also located, and will be operated by MCWD.
“The salient feature is the lease agreement for the lot will be good for 50 years. That’s where the P1 billion facility will be constructed, including new equipment such as 30 new trucks that will be purchased in Japan, as one of the conditions of the grant, which is to use Japanese products,” MCWD Chairman Jose Daluz III said.
City Administrator Floro Casas Jr., who met with MCWD officials on Thursday to discuss the project, said the facility will be constructed without any cost on the part of the City and MCWD.
“The proposed site is a lot owned by Cebu City. We were there to make sure that the proposed location is acceptable to the City,” he said.
As discussed during the meeting, the City would enter into a lease agreement with MCWD and the JICA, subject to the City Council’s approval.
In a separate interview on Friday, Oct. 8, 2021, Daluz said they already approved the draft of the lease agreement on Friday for submission to the City Council.
“This is not a loan. We don’t have to return it. It’s purely a grant; there are no conditions,” he said. “Once approved, the P1 billion will be available. I think the project can start this year,” Daluz added.
Aside from the income from the lease, Daluz said the City stands to earn P8 per cubic meter of water that will be treated in the facility.
The plant would treat waste water from Mandaue City, Lapu-Lapu City, Talisay City, Consolacion, Liloan, Compostela and other areas served by MCWD.
Daluz said the project is advantageous to the City because it will help rehabilitate underground water, treat industrial waste water and remove pollutants.
Though the processed waste water will not be potable, he said it can still be used for fire emergencies and in watering plants in parks and public spaces, which the MCWD supplies for free.
The MCWD already has an existing waste water treatment facility, but it needs to be improved. It can process 200 to 300 cubic meters of water daily.
“We currently operate a waste water treatment facility in MCWD, but it’s dirty. We have to improve that. ... This project with Jica is a modernized facility,” he said.
Daluz said that once there is already a lease contract between MCWD and Cebu City, Jica can start the bidding process for the project.
“The ball now is in the hands of MCWD and Cebu City on how fast we can prepare the contract and the lease agreement,” he said. (WBS)