Mla Water subsidiary inks P833-M loan with DBP

MANILA, Philippines - Manila Water Co., Inc. subsidiary Laguna AAAWater Corporation (LAWC) has signed a third loan agreement with the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) to finance its expansion plans in its concession area.

In a regulatory filing, Manila Water said its Laguna unit signed an P833 million omnibus and loan and security agreement with the DBP through the Philippine Water Revolving Fund.

“The proceeds of the loan will be used to finance the additional capital expenditures of Laguna Water to fulfill its service obligations and expansion plans in the province of Laguna,” the company said in the filing.

LAWC recently announced that it has taken over as the exclusive water service provider of Laguna Technopark.

LAWC will provide the water needs of more than 220 local and global locators engaged in semiconductors and electronics, automotive, home appliances and pharmaceuticals.

The subsidiary acquired the industrial park’s water  reticulation and sewerage system, as well as all assets and rights used in water service provision for P625 million.

The assets acquisition also includes areas to be covered by expansion of Laguna Technopark in the future.

LAWC president and general manager Melvin Tan said earlier that as of 2013, the company has almost half of its concession area covered.

Ending in 2013, the company has already covered 42 percent of its concession area with 64,000 individual connections. In 2012, the firm covered 28 percent of its concession area.

This year, the company aims for a 60 percent coverage.

Laguna Water is a joint venture between the provincial government of Laguna and LAWC. It services the cities of Binan, Santa Rosa and Cabuyao.

It currently supplies its concession area with 35 million liters of water per day mostly coming from deep wells and other spring sources.

Laguna Water has been implementing several initiatives to increase connections and improve its billing system.

Tan said new water sources are also being looked into.