By Sheldeen Joy Talavera, Reporter

METRO PACIFIC Water (MPW) is allocating P5 billion for its capital expenditure (capex) budget next year, primarily for the construction of a new desalination plant.

“Spending is higher this year compared to last year due to the ease of doing work in our concessions (Iloilo/Dumaguete) as opposed to previous years,” MPW President and Chief Executive Officer Andrew B. Pangilinan told BusinessWorld last week.

While the 2024 capex of P1.6 billion is higher than the previous year, Mr. Pangilinan said that the budget for 2025 is set at P5 billion, the bulk of which will go towards the development of a desalination plant in Iloilo City.

The facility is designed to produce 66.5 million liters of potable water per day upon its completion, targeted for 2027.

“The Iloilo desalination project will be financed by both debt and equity, typically at a 70:30 split,” Mr. Pangilinan said.

MPW’s subsidiary, Metro Pacific Iloilo Water (MPIW), a joint venture with Metro Iloilo Water District, serves Iloilo City and the municipalities of Oton, Sta. Barbara, Cabatuan, Maasin, San Miguel, Pavia, and Leganes.

To date, MPIW is serving close to 900,000 people across its service areas.

For this year, the company is targeting revenues of P4.3 billion, higher than last year’s P3.5 billion, buoyed by operational efficiencies and the reduction of nonrevenue water (NRW) in its service areas in Iloilo City and Dumaguete.

“For next year, we also have the same goals, and to add, we are also expecting the tariff increase for Iloilo to take effect by mid-year,” Mr. Pangilinan said.

NRW refers to water that is not billed and is lost through leaks or illegal connections.

The company will be ending the year with NRW at 41%, down from 46% at the start of the year.

“By the end of 2025, we’re targeting a further reduction to 35%,” the company executive said.

MPW is the water infrastructure investments subsidiary of Pangilinan-led conglomerate Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC).

MPIC is one of the three key Philippine units of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being Philex Mining Corp. and PLDT Inc. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority share in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls.