Mactan Rock to invest P100M on infra

CEBU, Philippines - Water solutions provider Mactan Rock Industries, Inc. (MRII) announced to spend at least P100 million for water infrastructure and distribution projects around the country to aid in the water scarcity problem.

In partnership with local government units (LGUs) and water districts, this will provide a total of 40 thousand cubic meters of potable water supply.

From being known as the bulk water supplier to both water districts and commercial entities, the Cebu-based water solutions company is now looking at venturing into distribution, said MRII president Lito Maderazo.

“We are now going into entering the water infrastructure from production to distribution,” he said in an interview.

The company is looking at closing at least 10 deals this year, with the different LGUs and water districts in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

Notwithstanding the transition of leadership in the LGUs due to the recently concluded elections, Maderazo said the company’s existing negotiations with local government units are not affected because its contracts are designed to stand on strong legal basis, despite change of leadership.

At present, the company has existing projects in Southern Tagalog region, Northern Luzon, Central and Northern Mindanao, as well as Eastern and Western Visayas.

While most of the big cities in the Philippines are supplied by water districts which are partly-owned by the government, Maderazo said the company will enter into partnerships with LGUs in small towns and cities that do not have good water system and ample water supply.

The company has existing partnership with the municipality of Coron in Palawan province, supplying 1,500 households for their water requirement, as in other municipalities in Mindanao and the Visayas.

In Caraga region, Mactan Rock is supplying over a thousand household.              

While Metro Cebu is covered by the distribution of MCWD (Metro Cebu Water District), Maderazo said the company is looking at partnering with municipalities outside of Metro Cebu for water distribution deals.

According to him, MRII is trying to help improve the basic infrastructure particularly in the water supply area so that a municipality, for instance, will be able to attract more investments, and that water supply problem will not be one of the reasons why investors will be hesitant to put in their money.

In tourism areas like Coron, for example, Maderazo said MRII has been able to help both the residents, as well as commercial establishments. Coron is one of the most visited tourism attractions in the province of Palawan.

Similarly, Maderazo said the company is also looking at prioritizing its water distribution offer to tourism hotspots in the country.

MRII builds and provides water equipment, as well as quality water treatment, for big establishments in the Philippines.

It’s expertise has been known in the water treatment being one of the companies in the country that pioneered the introduction of desalination process in Asia.

Desalination is the process of removing salinity (dissolved salts) from a salt water source.

In its 30 years in business, Maderazo said the company is now trying to put its expertise in helping the country’s infrastructure development, and "entering into water distribution water-supply deprived areas in the country is its small contribution."

Maderazo said water technology solutions business will continue to grow especially on the back of the growing economic state of the Philippines.

Aside from traditional source of water supply from dams and river beds, MRII is also adopting alternative water sourcing strategies, like desalination, surface water extraction, waste water recycling, rain water utilization, among others. /JMD (FREEMAN)