Construction of Davao City Bulk Water Supply Project now at full capacity

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 11 Oct) – Construction of the Davao City Bulk Water Supply Project (DCBWSP) commenced at full capacity beginning this month as the firm hopes to deliver to this city an additional source of water early next year after delays in the timeline of the project due to internal conflict with its former partner.

May Che Capili, external relations officer of the Apo Agua Infrastructura, told MindaNews on Tuesday that multiple contractors have been tapped by the company to finish the bulk water supply project after taking over the civil works from J.V. Angeles Construction Corporation (JVACC) due to the ongoing “internal” issues.

Davao City has been plagued with water interruptions lately, and some areas are suffering from low to no water pressure. The issue has caused a heated exchange between Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte and a resident online, forcing the mayor to apologize for his outburst.

“Works by various contractors have commenced. We’re aiming to supply water to the first offtake point (OTP) of DCWD by first quarter of 2023 with progressive ramp-up by second quarter of 2023,” she said.

The DCBWSP is a P12-billion water supply project of the Apo Agua, a joint venture between Aboitiz Equity Ventures and JVACC.

Capili did not divulge when the internal issues between the Apo Agua and its former engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor JVACC started but added that “negotiations and deliberations” are ongoing at the senior management level.

“I cannot divulge specific dates since it’s an ongoing internal matter between Apo Agua and our former EPC contractor. Apo Agua top management made the decision to take over the construction works so that we could really ramp up construction works and deliver water to DCWD off-take points ASAP,” she said.

During the Kapehan sa Dabaw last September 26, Capili said the completion of the water supply project encountered setbacks due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and the ongoing “internal” issues with its contractor.

Capili reiterated its commitment to supplying around 300 million liters of treated water to DCWD.

“The target delivery for the first optic point to the water district (DCWD) in Tugbok is the first quarter of 2023,” she said.

She added that target supply delivery from other optic points or water reservoirs such as Calinan, Talandang, Mandug, Indagan, Cabantian, Panacan, and Dumoy is expected by the second quarter of next year.

Based on the joint venture agreement, Apo Agua will take charge of water extraction and treatment and DCWD the water distribution. 

The target completion of the project was moved from 2021 to 2022 due to the pandemic. It was postponed further to 2023 due to issues with the contractor, according to Capili.

She said that the new contractors tapped to complete the construction have experience in hydropower and water treatment.

To ensure that it delivers water to DCWD within the “new” timeline, Capili said the firm’s new contractors would undertake 24/7 construction activities on the various components of the DCBWSP.

“When we started this visionary project with the Water District, we had one goal, which was to find an alternative source in conjunction with ground water sources, and we found that the more sustainable source would be the surface water that will go through a treatment process to increase the supply of water,” she said. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)