EAST ZONE water concessionaire Manila Water Co., Inc. said that its water concession deal in Balagtas, Bulacan had been revoked and terminated.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange on Tuesday, the listed water provider said it accepted the decision of Balagtas Water District (BWD) to revoke and terminate the notice of award for the water project.
In April 2018, Manila Water and its wholly owned subsidiary Manila Water Philippine Ventures, Inc., (MWPV) disclosed that it received a notice of award from BWD for a 25-year concession that will implement water and used water projects in Balagtas worth P400 million.
As part of the concession deal, Manila Water was mandated to create a joint venture company together with BWD and MWPV for the project.
The joint venture was supposed to design, construct, rehabilitate, operate, maintain, finance, expand, and manage the water supply system and its water and sanitation services.
According to Manila Water’s previous statement, the water project aimed to provide 22 million liters of water per day to BWD’s customers.
Sought for comment, BWD’s official Facebook page confirmed in a message to BusinessWorld that the project’s notice of award had been terminated.
However, BWD did not specify the reason behind its decision and said it would issue an official statement in the coming days regarding the revocation and termination of Manila Water’s notice of award.
In 2020, Manila Water posted an attributable net income of P4.50 billion, an 18.2% decline year on year, due to lower contribution from its domestic subsidiaries as a result of the pandemic.
The company said its consolidated operating revenues for 2020 dropped 2.4% year on year to P21.13 billion caused by weaker contributions from Estate Water and Boracay Water.
On Tuesday, shares of Manila Water at the stock exchange dropped 0.85% or 12 centavos to close at P14.06 apiece. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
