Boracay Water clinches P500-M loan deal

The operator of Boracay's water and wastewater treatment facilities recently clinched a P500-million loan to fund the remaining capital expenditures for its environmental projects in the island resort. In a statement Friday, Boracay Island Water Company Inc. (Boracay Water) said it may increase its loanable amount to P1 billion, enough to support key projects including its bid to supply the entire island with potable water by 2014 and sewer infrastructure by 2018. The loan is from the Philippine Water Revolving Fund (PWRF), a collaborative fund set up by the Philippine government, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). This is the first and biggest loan approved by the fund to a private company in the water sector, PWRF noted. Since taking over the island's water and wastewater operations, Boracay Water was able to curb system loss to 24 percent from 37 percent. The company — a public-private partnership between the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority and Manila Water Company Inc. — was also able to boost water pressure in the area from a mere 15 pounds per square inch (psi) to 30 psi on average. As a result, Boracay Water was able to provide 24/7 water supply to 96 percent of the island’s households and business establishments. The company recently upgraded the island's sewage treatment plant to boost its capacity to 6.5 million liters a day from 2.6 million liters — a sharp 250-percent increase. Since the upgrade, processed water released from the plant to Bolabog beach has been certified safe for swimming and aquatic life. This allowed the company to achieve environmental compliance four years ahead of the concession target, which reversed the island's water pollution woes. — JMT/VS, GMA News