Isla Mactan-Cordova Corp. or IMCC, a subsidiary of Vivant Hydrocore Holdings Inc., is setting up to complete its industry-first P2-billion utility-scale seawater desalination project in Mactan, Cebu by December.

IMCC President and CEO Jess Anthony Garcia said the project will equip and enable the company's 25-year contract to supply desalinated water to the Metropolitan Cebu Water District or MCWD.

The desalination plant, which can generate 20 million liters a day of potable water in the first phase, can cover the average daily consumption of 20,000 Filipino households.
The plant will commercially open by early next year and it can be expanded to 50 million liters a day using seawater reverse osmosis technology.

Salt remover
Reverse osmosis is a globally utilized technology to remove salt from seawater and produce drinking water.

The project aims to address the gap between water demand and supply while allowing severely extracted groundwater aquifers to replenish naturally.

In his speech during the ceremonial equipment installation at the Vivant group-led seawater desalination project in Cebu, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said that the future plant will help Mactan's continued growth and development while addressing insufficient access to drinking water.

"No household should have to suffer the indignity of unclean water, and the risk of illness and hospital expenses that comes with it," Zubiri said.

Meanwhile, Senator Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel, Senate Deputy Minority Floor Leader, shared her hope that the future seawater desalination plant will reduce the health risks among Cebuanos, which are associated with unclean and inadequate water supply.

"Our communities, and cities, and municipalities like Cordova need clean and sufficient water supplies to ensure that they will continue to be livable and nurturing spaces," Hontiveros said in her speech.

"The IMCC Desalination Plant is just the beginning of our journey towards a water-secure Philippines."

Hontiveros said that both floors of the Senate will continue to push legislative reforms and policies that will foster investment and use of environmentally and energy-efficient technologies towards water security like desalination plants and others.