The provincial government of Cebu has proposed another joint venture agreement with the Razon-led Manila Water Consortium Inc. as the Cebu capitol has earmarked an initial P3-billion budget for bulk water projects.

This comes as Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia met with MWCI chief operating officer Melvin John Tan and discussed another venture.

Concurrently, Cebu Province and MWCI has its joint venture agreement in the 30 million liters per day bulk water in Luyang River in Carmen town.

Garcia’s proposed joint venture will initially involve the local government units of Dalaguete, Tuburan, Asturias, Pinamungajan, Aloguinsan, San Remigio, Tabuelan, Sogod, Dumanjug, Ronda, Alcantara, Badian and Ginatilan.

She added that the provincial government has invested in at least 11 bulk water facilities out of the 26 planned water projects.

To recall, Garcia proposed in December 2021 bulk water supply projects after the devastating onslaught of typhoon “Odette” and one of the objectives was to address the increasing demand for potable water.

The bulk water development is a key priority of the Garcia administration as the province constructs bulk water infrastructure for level 3 connections and transfers ownership to the municipal government for management after completion.

Garcia explained that the town would purchase the bulk water from the provincial government per cubic meter and oversee the distribution and sale of water.