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The Philippines has suffered in recent years from the poor performance of previous projects. ADB’S new Water Financing Program (WFP) will provide the necessary skills for improving the country’s capacity in overseeing water projects, particularly the capacity of water districts outside major urban areas. |
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| Rudolf Frauendorfer Senior Urban Development Specialist |
In the Philippines, opportunities to expand water sector lending are hindered by weak capacity at the local level for developing new projects, says ADB Senior Urban Development Specialist Rudolf Frauendorfer.
Outside Metro Manila, urban water supply is mainly provided either by about 500 water districts, under the authority of the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA), or by more than 1,000 local government-operated water utilities. Many of the small water districts and local government-operated water utilities lack the staff skills to prepare new projects.
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| Outside Metro Manila, water is mainly provided either by about 500 water districts, under the authority of the Local Water Utilities Administration, or by more than 1,000 local government-operated water utilities. |
One recent project to help improve water supply in urban areas outside Manila successfully improved the capacity of water districts for implementing water supply subprojects and operation and maintenance of their systems.
Before the project, only about 70% of the urban population had access to safe water. In smaller towns, the coverage was much lower than the national urban average. ADB approved the Small Towns Water Supply Sector Project (STWSSP) in 1996 to enhance urban water supply coverage.
Outside Manila, ADB is looking at the financing of water districts either through LWUA—probably using ADB’s new Multitranche Financing Facility (MFF)—or, on a sub-sovereign basis with larger, well-performing water districts. The MFF seems to be a suitable financing modality to address the demand for improved urban water supply in water districts and local government-operated utilities. |
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| Philippines Country Dialogue at the Water Financing Program Conference, September 2006 |
ADB has also prepared MFF financing for the rehabilitation and improvement of the Angat Dam water-source system, which provides 98% of Manila’s water supply. The MFF for the Angat Water Utilization and Aqueduct Improvement Project would provide a $400 million credit line for the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), and would be part of a 10-year investment program amounting to about $1.4 billion.
The program covers major investments in improving and expanding raw water sources, transmission, treatment facilities, distribution networks, and storage. The MWSS will be responsible for the execution of various subprojects under the operation.| © 2009 Asian Development Bank Privacy | Terms of Use |
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