• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The provincial government of Negros Occidental has set a timeline until the end of May to come up with a resolution on whether to award or decline the offer of the lone bidder to the P1.2-billion bulk water supply project.
Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz II said on Thursday, Jan. 30, that they are still studying the proposal of the lone bidder, noting that the review of the technical and financial post-qualification is “very tedious”.
First Balfour, which forms part of the Lopez Group of Companies, with Victorias Milling Company as the local partner, is the lone bidder for the project.
Since this is a big project, “we don’t want to overlook something very important, which later can become a problem,” Diaz said.
The Negros Occidental Bulk Water Supply Project involves the financing, engineering design, construction, operation, and maintenance of a bulk water supply system with a minimum capacity of 34.5 million liters/day (MLD), to be sourced from the Imbang River and/or Malogo River.
It is expected to supply treated bulk water to six water service providers in the Negros Occidental in the cities of Bacolod, Silay, Talisay, and Victorias, and the municipalities of Manapla and E.B. Magalona.
The consortium submitted a bid of P24 per cubic meter of water.
The provincial government of Negros Occidental is providing a P200-million counterpart fund for the project.
If the proposal is not approved, Diaz raised the possibility that the amount maybe be used to help water districts in those localities, especially in their capital expenditures, to manage their respective water systems. | GB
