Manila Water’s Marikina STP marks 2-M safe man-hours

MANILA, Philippines - In a testament to its success in institutionalizing safety practices in all its facilities and operations, Ayala-led Manila Water said its Marikina North Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) recently celebrated its two million safe man-hours without any lost-time for accident.

Manila Water Project Delivery Group director Estelita Orodio said reaching the two million safe man-hours is a big achievement considering that it is not easy for companies to attain this.

She added that Manila Water was able to achieve this through strict adherence to safety practices and solutions.

“Reaching two million safe man-hours is not something that anyone can just attain. It is a result of effective planning and everyone complying with the safety procedures when working on site. This is one of the reasons why the project remains on-track with its timeline,” Orodio said.

“Even if we have already reached two million safe-hours, we strive not to be complacent but rather take it as a challenge as we complete the Marikina North STP Project, to provide our customers in the area with world-class sewerage services in the earliest possible time,” Orodio added.

Orodio’s statement was echoed by Nicandro Linao, president of the contracting company, Sta. Clara International Construction (SC-OTV), as he challenged everyone in the consortium working on the program to continue working efficiently and safely.

Special awards and certificates of recognition were given to the contractor’s project managers, Josefino Umali and Franck Wicquart, as well as to safety manager Alexander Padin for this notable achievement in safety.

The P2.7-billion Marikina sewage treatment plant, located at the Balubad resettlement site in Barangay Nangka, is capable of treating 100 million liters of wastewater on a daily basis.

The STP can treat sewage and drainage wastes using the Sequencing Batch Reactor (SBR) technology for the benefit of more than half a million of Manila Water’s consumers in the catchment area, particularly in Marikina, San Mateo and other municipalities of Rizal province. It is expected to be commissioned by October this year.

To date, Manila Water operates 37 sewage treatment plants and two septage treatment facilities with a total wastewater treatment capacity of 500 million liters per day.

The company has also installed 109,717 sewer connections that serve 158,242 households.