THE Davao City Council has given Apo Agua Infrastructura Inc.(AAII), developer of Davao City Bulk Water Supply Project until Friday, October 6, to pass the necessary documents for the approval of its request to increase the allowable use of land for the establishment of water treatment facility in Barangay Gumalang, Baguio District.
In an interview on Wednesday, October 4, Majority Floor Leader Bernard Al-ag told SunStar that they chose to defer voting of the item to next session on October 9 due to some requirements that need to be accomplished first by the AAII.
"Some councilors requested for documents before they vote," Al-ag said.
He added that these documents include the water extraction permit from the National Water and Resources Board (NWRB), second is the board resolution of the Apo Agua they will use the energy generated from go for the hydropower component of the plant solely for the bulk water project and will not sold it anywhere else, and third is the copy of the memorandum of agreement between Davao City Water District (DCWD) and AAII, which states that DCWD will buy water from AAII.
During Tuesday's session Davao City Councilor Jesus Joseph Zozobrado questioned the AAII representatives on the use of the hydropower component of the treatment plant, as the corporation has previously had entered a contract with Department of Energy for exploration of utilization of Tamugan River for energy generation.
"It is to that effect that a joint order is needed from AAII stating that while they enter into a contract with the Department of Energy for the utilization, development and exploration of Tamugan River for electricity generation, the truth and the real intention of the corporation is not to generate electricity for public consumption but only for its personal consumption in relation to the water treatment facility," he said.
In reply to this Cerilo Almario III, AAII representative said that Apo Agua will be providing a board resolution stating that the hydropower facility that they will be putting up in the plant would only be used to generate power to the facility and not for sale.
Almario said that the facility will need to use 1.8- 2 megawatts, and they will produce around 2.2 MW just to be sure.
In a telephone interview yesterday, Al-ag expressed confidence that the AAII will be able to produce the documents asked for.
It is noted that any amendment for the Local Zoning Ordinance, which in this case the allowable use of residential land to industrial land, will need two third vote of the councilors, which means 21 councilors should vote for the item's approval
Last Tuesday, 21 councilors were present but they cannot push through with the voting because there were several issues raised for clarification.
Davao City Water District Spokesperson Bernard Delima in a phone interview with SunStar Davao on Wednesday, October 4, said that the the delay in the passing of the item has been anticipated by DCWD and AAII since the treatment facility will be located at a watershed area.