The provincial government of Cebu announced on Wednesday that it has started negotiating with possible investors for the water and waste-to-energy projects following the meeting between Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia and Suez Group for Southeast Asia managing director Farchad Kaviani recently.

Garcia assured the prospective investors that she meant business when dealing with them saying that they can “talk business with this government.”

Suez Group is a Paris-based provider of water and waste management solutions was with Infrastructure Asia, a project facilitation office that enables good-fit solutions from companies and institutions based in Singapore in addressable infrastructure needs in Asia.

Cebu Capitol has been trying to find a reliable partner on WTE project.

The provincial government has started a multibillion-dollar bulk water project in at least 25 local government units. It is now searching for a private partner to oversee these large-scale water projects in the future.

Meantime, the Suez Group showcases its businesses models and expertise during the meeting.

Kaviani said that he was pleased with the governor’s eagerness to interact with investors and that they would submit their unsolicited proposals to the Provincial government on the said projects.

Capitol has previously worked on projects with the private sector by joint venture, currently with Filinvest Land, which is building and running a four- tower BPO complex at the Cebu IT Park, and the Manila Water, which is treating and distributing 35 million liters of water per day from Carmen town to Metro Cebu areas.

Garcia said that in due time, the provincial government will enter a joint venture with Acciona Energia, a Spain-based company, to construct a 150-megawatt solar power plant in Daanbantayan town.