THE P10-billion Davao City Tamugan Bulk Water Supply Project of Apo Agua Infrastructura Inc. (AAII) is already at its final stage of preparation and is set to start the construction before the end of this year.
AAII General Manager Ones Almario III, in an interview during the 5th Watershed Summit held at The Ritz Hotel Garden Oasis on Thursday, June 29, said the company is just waiting for the issuance of the Department of Agriculture Certification as it is one of the key requirements for the application of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Conversion Permit.
"We cannot start our construction without the DAR Conversion Permit since we are putting a powerplant in an agrciultural land converting it into industrial area. This process usually takes a long time since major assessments have to be done," Almario said.
However, Almario said they are expecting the approval of the permit on the first week or last of July. He added that once it is released, full-swing construction shall be expected by the local government of the city.
Almario said equipment, papers, and constructors are all set to start the construction once the DAR Conversion Permit is released.
Apo Agua Infrastructura Inc. (AAII) is a joint venture between Aboitiz Equity Ventures (AEV) and JV Angeles Construction Corporation (JVACC), which will manage the construction and operation of the project, while Davao City Water District (DCWD) as the distributor to the consumers.
Almario said the company has already obtained the endorsement of the project to all 19 barangays that will become affected by the project. Three of these barangays, however, are not covered by the water supply provided by the project since their areas are in extreme upland.
"But we have already went tothese three barangays and made an agreement to provide the community simple benefits such as medical missions, scholarships for some chosen students, and other more benefits," Almario said.
The construction time of the project, he said, is three years although AAII will be doing their best to achieve their commitment with the city mayor's office to complete the project by 2019.
"If we cannot really finish the whole project by 2019, rest assured almost half of it will be functional already and some areas of the city will be provided by the water supply from our project," Almario said.
The project, the first-of-its-kind in the city to use surface water, will supply up to 300 million liters per day to DCWD, tapping the Tamugan River for its sufficient flow of raw water quality.