By Sheldeen Joy Talavera, Reporter

METRO Pacific Water (MPW) is deploying new water solutions in Iloilo City to address the increasing demand, according to the company’s president.

“We have a long way to go in terms of providing the basic water needs for every Filipino, but that is our main objective — we want to give each Filipino an adequate supply of treated water,” MPW President and Chief Executive Officer Andrew B. Pangilinan said in an interview with BusinessWorld.

“We will continue to have discussions with local government units, even on the commercial side, and we will look for ways to come up with new solutions, such as desalination, in providing water and wastewater services to the country,” he added.

MPW is set to develop a P5-billion desalination plant in Iloilo City in partnership with France-based water and wastewater management solutions provider Suez.

The desalination plant is designed to produce 66.5 million liters of water per day.

Mr. Pangilinan said they are targeting to commence construction of the project in January next year, with completion slated for early 2027.

MPW earlier said that Metro Iloilo is “undergoing rapid economic and population growth,” which is putting a “strain” on the existing water resources.

The company signed a joint venture agreement with Metro Iloilo Water District in 2018 for the 25-year concession for the rehabilitation, expansion, and improvement of the water distribution system and wastewater management facilities.

The joint venture, Metro Pacific Iloilo Water, serves Iloilo City and the municipalities of Pavia, Leganes, Sta. Barbara, Cabatuan, Oton, San Miguel, and Maasin.

“Admittedly, for the past few years that we’ve been there, there’s really a water shortage. So right now, the most viable solution, the fastest solution, is putting up a desalination plant,” Mr. Pangilinan said.

He said desalination is the most viable option since other traditional sources, such as surface water and groundwater, are no longer viable in Iloilo due to pollution.

“We still have several groundwater sources being maintained, but they are already showing signs of degradation, so we really need to find a better water source, and right now, desalination is the most viable one,” he said.

A desalination plant is designed to take seawater and remove the salinity to produce fresh water, Mr. Pangilinan said.

Once successful, the company is open to using the project as a guide to replicate it in other areas.

MPW is the water infrastructure investments subsidiary of Pangilinan-led conglomerate Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC).

MPIC is one of the three key Philippine units of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being Philex Mining Corp. and PLDT Inc. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority share in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls.