Aboitiz to submit unsolicited proposal for Capitol's Bulk Water Project
ABOITIZ InfraCapital will submit an unsolicited proposal for the Capitol's Bulk Water Supply Project this February, Negros Occidental Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz II said Tuesday, February 7.
The timeline was given by Aboitiz during the visit of its executives last week with Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson and Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, where they also revealed that they are interested to put a P2.8 billion investment for the project.
"Regardless that happens or not...the province continues to prepare the technical, legal, financial, environmental, and social aspects of the project for the province of Negros Occidental," Diaz said.
He also said that Bacolod City Water District has not yet submitted its letter of intent for the project and has not stated the quantity of water supply they will get from the province's bulk water supply project.
"That's despite the assurance made by Baciwa that they will get 40 minimal liquid discharge (MLD) from the province's bulk water supply. I am getting the opinions of our governor and Mayor Albee on this because if Baciwa is not getting the water supply, we will redirect the water supply to other local government units that have already submitted their LOI," Diaz said.
He said, "We cannot wait for Baciwa forever because until now, they have not signified the quantity of supply they will be getting which we need on our feasibility study. They do not cooperate so we are, in a way, disappointed because that is not what they said and indicated during the water summit."
"Baciwa is saying that they have several sources of water. They are playing a hard ball and we will not wait for them. We will give the supply to Talisay City and Silay City and other LGUs in the future. We will continue with the project because this is the promise of Governor Lacson to provide potable drinking water to the people of Negros Occidental," Diaz said.
He said wells are drying up and the province has to do something and not wait for the crisis to come.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAid) study revealed that Bacolod City is in a water crisis for 20 years already because of the number of households that cannot be given supply, and a lot of people are getting water from deep wells, shallow wells and jetmatic pumps which are sometimes the source of gastrointestinal diseases like cholera, he said.
"I think we have to get our acts together. If they are trying to be hard on this, we will continue with the project for the good of the people of Negros," Diaz said.