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ACCIONA hosted its first roundtable discussion in the Philippines entitled, “Exploring Solutions for Water Sustainability in the Philippines”, last October 20, 2023, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Metro Manila.
ACCIONA hosted its first roundtable discussion in the Philippines entitled, “Exploring Solutions for Water Sustainability in the Philippines”, last October 20, 2023, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Metro Manila.
The Philippines is a country facing increasing water stress. In this context, desalination is becoming an increasingly important solution for providing potable water. Improving water infrastructure in the Philippines is crucial to ensure access to safe, clean water for its growing population. This investment not only improves the quality of life of its inhabitants, but also contributes to reducing water-related diseases and promotes sustainable economic development. It also strengthens resilience to natural disasters, such as typhoons and floods, which are frequent in the country. Exploring solutions for water sustainability is a critical step towards a more prosperous and healthy future for the Philippines.
In this context, ACCIONA hosted its first roundtable discussion in the Philippines entitled, “Exploring Solutions for Water Sustainability in the Philippines”, last October 20, 2023, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Metro Manila.
The event was graced by four expert speakers who touched on topics that were essential to the discussion on exploring solutions for water sustainability in the Philippines: Mr. Jorge Malfeito, Director of Innovation of ACCIONA Water Business, discussed desalination worldwide and the evolution of technology; Mr. Ramon “Dondi” Alikpala, CEO of FutureWater Asia, gave us an insightful overview on the water problems of the Philippines and made us think about desalination as one of the solutions; Atty. Patrick Ty, Chief Regulator of Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System Regulatory Office, shared different water projects in Metro Manila in the pipeline; and Ms. Fiorella “Lala” Fabella, Senior Water Supply and Sanitation Specialist of World Bank, discussed the financial resources for water.
During his presentation, Jorge Malfeito highlighted that desalination is a technology that Spain has relied on for more than 40 years due to water scarcity, initially in the Canary Islands. However, he points out that, in the last 20 years, this has been due to the increase in population and recurrent droughts that affect the whole country, especially in the Levante area and the Islands.
In the Philippines, according to Alikpala, there is no correlation between water availability and population. In the Central Islands of the country, an hyper-urbanized area , there is no balance between the population and water resources, since the most populated areas have the least access to water, which hasn’t got a good quality.He also debunked the myths related to the high prices of desalination, and remarked that desalination is more resilient to climate change and is a more economical option for commercial and industrial users, since if they have to buy bottled water, it is usually much more expensive than a m3 of desalinated water.
Mr. Ty emphasized in his presentation the need to diversify in the country, taking advantage of additional technology to find water supply solutions.
Fiorella Fabella, from the World Bank, remarked in her speech that it is vital to achievewater security for all, which requires coordinated action and a massive increase in investment in the sector by the government, international financial institutions, multilateral development banks and the private sector.
The event also featured Amar Mokrani, regional director of ACCIONA's Water area, and was well attended by government officials, representatives of the private sector, consultants and policy experts. It was a nutritious discussion to exchange views on Solutions for Water Sustainability in the Philippines.
ACCIONA inaugurated in Manila its new headquarters in the Philippines in April 2019. The WATER business line of ACCIONA area entered the country in 2016 with the contract for the design, construction, operation and maintenance for one year of the Putatán II brackish water purification plant.
Subsequently, it obtained the contract for the design and construction of the Laguna Lake DWTP, also in the Metro Manila area, and more recently the EAST Bay 2 DWTP. The project is located in the city of Pakil, 70 kilometers southeast from the metropolitan area of Manila, capital of the Philippines.