New firm assures improvements within 18 months

Metro Iloilo Water District operations, which services seven Iloilo municipalities, were formally turned over to Metro Pacific Iloilo Water Inc. (MIW) yesterday.

MIW Director Jose Maria K. Lim said the joint venture aims to ensure water availability to the service areas; improve service efficiency; and reduce the non-revenue water, or water that fails to reach consumers, from 50 to 35 percent.

Lim added, service coverage is expected to initially increase from 21 to 35 percent, with an ultimate goal of reaching 80 percent. He also acknowledged major investment is still needed in order to begin the process of upgrading facilities and building new infrastructure.

The MIW official affirmed they will commit to investing in new facilities, which are projected to cost P12.35 billion over the course of the 25-year concession deal.

Lim assured consumers improvements within the next 18 months./WDJ