P22 billion for Baguio water treatment rehab
BAGUIO CITY — At least P22 billion is needed for the planned rehabilitation of the city’s water and wastewater treatment plants to significantly reduce the volume of pollutants in its different river systems, based on the estimation of the Japan International Cooperating Agency.
Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong said that given this estimate to fund these projects, the city government is compelled to avail of grants and soft loans offered by the different local and international financial lending institutions such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which expressed its intent to help the city in this endeavor.
The ADB, which will hold its annual board meeting in the city by the first or second quarter next year, will be looking into the needs of the city and assess its capacity to pay the soft loans it may provide for specific environment projects and programs.
Magalong added that while the city government would be able to access at least P2 billion in grants from other government agencies, the balance P20 billion required to bankroll the full project will still have to be taken from loans based on debt-to-equity ratio from the city’s capacity and ability to pay back the borrowed money.
The proposed projects include the rehabilitation and expansion of the 32-year old Baguio sewerage treatment plant, the put-up of a sewerage treatment plant for the city’s abattoir and public market, the construction of additional sewerage treatment plants along strategic areas in the Galiano, Bued and Ambalanga rivers and the inter-connection of all residential and commercial structures to the established sewerage treatment plants.