Negros Occidental Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz II said Wednesday, January 3, that three investors have bought bidding documents for the bulk water supply project of the provincial government as of December.
Diaz said the three companies are Manila Water, Aboitiz InfraCapital, and Balibago Water Systems Company.
"We are happy that there are already three companies interested in pursuing the bulk water project under the public-private partnership," Diaz said.
He said the project is aimed at solving the water problem of local government units in Negros Occidental, including Bacolod City.
Diaz said that investors who are interested in the project have until the end of this month to buy bidding documents, which is worth P150,000.
Pre-selection of qualified bidders will be on February 7, Diaz said.
He said the Capitol is looking for a company with track record, number of projects that are similarly situated in other parts of the country, and the volume and capacity of their water plants and the standing of their company.
The project, officially named as the Negros Occidental Bulk Water Supply Project (NBWSP), involves the financing, engineering design, construction, operation, and maintenance of a bulk water supply system with a minimum capacity of 34.5 million liters/day (MLD) to be sourced from the Imbang River and/or Malogo River, according to the official website of the provincial government.
It is expected to supply treated bulk water to six water service providers in the Negros Occidental: the cities of Bacolod, Silay, Talisay, and Victorias, and the municipalities of Manapla, and EB Magalona.
The project shall be implemented through a joint venture agreement (JVA) with the provincial government for a period of 38 years, inclusive of the construction period.
Diaz said the project could be awarded to more than one investor because it is really a big project.*
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Capitol coming out with cleanse list of JOs
By Teresa D.Ellera
The provincial government of Negros Occidental will soon come out with a list of job order workers based on the performance evaluations of their respective department heads, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz II said Wednesday, January 3.
Diaz said the list will also be cleansed of JOs who have been tested positive for use of illegal drugs, based on the recent drug test held in December on all Capitol employees.
A total of 27 Capitol employees have been tested positive for the use of illegal drugs; 20 of them are Capitol-based while seven were assigned to hospitals run and managed by the provincial government.
"We have already determined who these employees are and to what department they belong," Diaz said.
The contracts of the concerned JOs who were positive for illegal drug use were immediately not renewed, even without the confirmatory test results, Diaz added.
The test results have already shown if the employee is positive or negative, and the confirmatory test shows the quantitative drugs in the urine, Diaz explained.
So we will come up with a list of the JOs soon, he added.
Earlier, Governor.Eugenio Jose Lacson said the drug test results is “not alarming,” but they will suffer the consequences.*