Aboitiz’s Water unit secures loan
Apo Agua Infrastructura, Inc. (Apo Agua), a subsidiary of Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc., has secured a 19-billion loan from a consortium of lenderbanks to fund its bulk water and power project in Davao City.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, AEV said the loan will finance the 347MLD water treatment facility for the supply of treated bulk water to the Davao City Water District and an integrated 2.5-MW hydroelectric power plant.
The consortium of lenderbanks includes BPI Capital Corporation as Mandated Lead Arranger and Bookrunner, as well as China Bank Capital Corporation as Joint Lead Arranger.
It also includes Bank of the Philippine Islands, China Banking Corporation, Development Bank of the Philippines, and Bank of Commerce, as Initial Note Holders, and BPI Asset Management and Trust Corporation as Trustee and Notes Facility Agent.
Apo Agua, a joint venture company between AEV and J.V. Angeles Construction Corporation (JVACC), is targeting to commence operations by the first half of 2021.
“As a long standing partner of Davao City for over 70 years, we at Aboitiz are excited to be working with JVACC in order to provide current and future generations of Davaoeños with a sustainable, safe, and dependable source of bulk water supply,” Apo Agua President Romàn V. Azanza III.
He added that, “our proven partnership with the Davao City Water District (DCWD) has led us to today’s momentous event where we celebrate the start of construction of our project.”
The DCBWSP is a strategic infrastructure initiative that will shift the dependence of Davao City’s main water supply from groundwater wells to the more sustainably-sourced surface water from the Tamugan River.
Set to be the largest private bulk water supply facility in the country, the 112.6-billion project will provide the DCWD with over 300 million liters per day (mld) of safe water.
The treated water will be distributed to over one million Davaoeños through the DCWD’s five existing water systems (namely, Dumoy, Calinan, Tugbok, Panacan, and Cabantian), as well as via three additional new water systems at Talandang, Mandug, and Indangan. (JAL)