A desalination plant that can produce up to 65 million liters of potable water per day will soon rise in Iloilo City.
Metro Pacific Water (MPW), the wholly-owned water infrastructure investments subsidiary of Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC), recently sealed an agreement with French company Suez for the construction of the plant.
The facility, which will be built in Barangay Ingore in La Paz district, aims to address the rising demand for water in Metro Iloilo.
In a press release, MPW said Metro Iloilo is “experiencing robust economic and population expansion, driven by thriving sectors such as business process outsourcing (BPO) and tourism.”
This growth, according to the water company, “significantly strains local water resources, necessitating innovative solutions like the new desalination plant.”
Meanwhile, Farchad Kaviani, head of Suez Asia, said they are “privileged to collaborate with [MPW] on this critical initiative.”
“Our cutting-edge desalination technology will contribute significantly to securing a sustainable water source for Iloilo,” he stressed.
The “large-scale seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination plant” is expected to benefit around 50,000 households.
Desalination is the conversion of seawater into drinking water. The process separates dissolved salts and other minerals from water through the process of reverse osmosis.
MPW owns 80 percent of Metro Pacific Iloilo Water (MPIW), which distributes water in Iloilo City and the towns of Oton, Sta. Barbara, Cabatuan, Maasin, San Miguel, Pavia, and Leganes.IMT
REPORTING by Vincent Dave Molavin, West Visayas State University College of Communication intern; EDITING by Reymar Latoza
