• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz II clarified on Tuesday (Dec. 17) that there is no awarding yet for the winning bidder of the P1.2-billion Negros Occidental Bulk Water Supply Project (NBWSP).
Diaz said that the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) is still conducting a post-qualification review of the documents submitted by the consortium of First Balfour Inc., with its local partner Victorias Milling Company Inc. and FPIP Utilities Inc.
While the company has a “good track record,” they need to personally inspect its performance in the past projects, he added.
The NBWSP 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 cities of Bacolod, Silay, Talisay, and Victorias, and the municipalities of Manapla and EB Magalona.
The consortium has submitted a bid of P24 per cubic meter.
Diaz said that they will also consult the different water districts and consumers if the rate the bidder is proposing is affordable.
He also confirmed that the Commission on Elections has approved the exemption of the NBWSP from the election ban.
Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson earlier said that the construction of the bulk water supply project is expected to start next year, with a construction period of three years.
About 100 MLD will be sourced from the Malogo River, and 34 to 36 MLD will be generated from the Imbang River, the province’s focal person for public-private partnership projects, lawyer Jessa Genteroles, earlier said. | GB
