Maynilad Water Services Inc. will start flushing pipelines at the corner of Aguirre and W. Vinzons Avenues in BF Homes, Parañaque City next week as its initial step in providing potable, affordable and sufficient water supply for 10,000 households in the subdivision.
The Parañaque city government made the announcement yesterday as Maynilad officials and the Philippine Waterworks and Construction Corp. (PWCC), a subsidiary of BF Homes Inc. and operator of the village water system, continue to study the eventual selling price of water to the homeowners.
Maynilad will start working on the pipelines on Feb. 8, as announced during a second meeting with Mayor Florencio Bernabe Jr. earlier this week.
During the first meeting, Maynilad president Rogelio Singson offered to sell water in bulk to PWCC at the transfer cost of P23 to P24 per cubic meter and suggested that PWCC re-sell it to the homeowners at P35 per cubic meter.
Melo Mendoza of PWCC said that since Maynilad also suggested the use of the water system that is now in place, the suggested selling price is not viable to PWCC. He said what would be acceptable to them is at least P55 per cubic meter.
He explained that a margin of P8 per cubic meter is enough for them to recover over a given period of time the value of their assets, as well as compensate for system losses in the delivery of water to the homeowners.
“That P55 may not be acceptable to the homeowners since homeowners in other subdivisions close to BF Homes getting Maynilad water are currently being charged P35 per cubic meter,” Bernabe said.
Maynilad chief executive officer Herbert Consunji said that if the PWCC has made a valuation of its assets, they are willing to pay for it in advance – provided the price is reasonable and has the clearance of the National Water Regulatory Board, which has the final say on water tariff.