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Two groups are eyeing to pre-qualify and bid for the New Centennial Water Source - Kaliwa Dam Project (NCWS-KDP) in the Philippines.

The project, which has been launched by the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) under the public-private partnership (PPP) Program, has received two pre-qualification documents from a consortium formed by Datem (a local construction firm) & Abeima (Abengoa Group) and San Miguel Holdings Corporation, a local infrastructure developer.

According to sources, MWSS expects to announce the pre-qualified bidders in November 2015.

The NCWS project involves the development of an additional raw water supply source with a design capacity of 600 MLD, through the commissioning of the Kaliwa Dam, including intake facilities, other pertinent facilities and a water conveyance tunnel.  Also part of the project is a water conveyance system with a design capacity of 2,400 MLD, in anticipation of additional inflows from Laiban Dam which is upstream of the Kaliwa Dam.

The preferred bidder will be responsible for the design, financing, and construction of the new facilities. Under a build and transfer (B&T) contractual arrangement the Philippines government will pay the preferred bidder with fixed annual payment over 25 years.

The total project investment is estimated at P18.72 billion (US$405.2 million) project.

The project aims to ensure long term water security in Metro Manila and nearby provinces by increasing raw water supply to meet future potable water demand. It will also address the need for an additional water supply source, reducing dependency on the Angat Dam reservoir.

In early July this year MWSS launched the pre-qualification round for the project. The Invitation to Pre-Qualify and Bid (ITPB) came after MWSS did not shortlist any bidder for the project in a first pre-qualification round. As we reported in early June three companies failed to qualify: San Miguel Corporation, Megawide Construction Corporation and Abeinsa (Abengoa Group).

Since September this year we have reported on several PPP projects in the Philippines:

• Baggao water supply project
• Philippine airport package A & package B
• Civil Registry System-IT PPP Project (Phase II)
• Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 4
• Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 6
• Redevelopment of Ninoy Aquino International Aiport (NAIA)