Bureaucratic delays have hampered the implementation of desalination projects by the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD), its chairman Jose Daluz III said.

Daluz told DAILY TRIBUNE that the slow issuance of permits, along with other delays, has been hindering the project’s takeoff.

“Our plant in Mambaling was supposed to be operational last year but it was not given a permit in Cebu City. It was only given last December so the start of construction started in January which delayed its completion further,” Daluz cited.

In January 2023, the MCWD announced that an additional 20,000 cubic meters of desalinated water per day would be supplied by Pilipinas Water Resources Inc.(PWRI).

The 10,000 cubic meters would come from their Mambaling plant in Cebu City, while the remaining 10,000 cubic meters would originate from their facility in Opao, Mandaue City.

Once fully operational, the Mambaling desalination plant can benefit around 30,000 households. Daluz revealed the permit requests to city hall were made as early as April 2023, but actual work commenced only earlier this year

He cited as an example the recent approval by city hall of the pipe-laying activities which was submitted in April 2023.

“We will just have to extend not because the supplier did not comply... the facility in Mambaling is there. It’s just the bureaucracy of the government,” Daluz stressed.

Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama has declared a state of water crisis, in which he acknowledged the worsening situation brought about by the soaring heat index.

Water consumers in Metro Cebu have been sharing on social media their distress over the unavailability of water. Daluz admitted the water deficit has reached 40,000 cubic meters per day.

MCWD was producing 310,000 cubic meters of water per day, the volume has dropped to 260,000 cubic meters per day.