President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo leads the groundbreaking of the P30-million water supply improvement project in Estancia, Iloilo that will be funded mostly by grant from LWUA to provide clean drinking water to an additional 1,500 families. With the President in the event are LWUA Chairman Prospero Pichay, Jr. (not in photo), Iloilo Governor Niel Tupas, Estancia Mayor Restituto Mosqueda and Estancia Water District General Manager Rodney Aggregado. The project is part of LWUA's nationwide program to develop water systems in the countryside in support of the PGMA administration's target of access to safe water for all barangays.

Taking a short break from her tour of typhoon-hit areas in Luzon, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo led recently the groundbreaking ceremony for a P30-million water supply expansion and improvement project in Estancia, Iloilo, to be funded and technically supervised by the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) to provide safe drinking water to an additional 1,500 households.

Assisting the President during the capsule-laying ceremonies were LWUA Chairman Prospero Pichay, Jr. (not in photo), Iloilo Governor Niel Tupas Sr., Estancia Mayor Restituto Mosqueda, Estancia Vice Mayor Roduel Aclaro, Estancia Water District General Manager Rodney Aggregado, and LWUA acting Administrator Daniel I. Landingin.

The President congratulated LWUA and the local water district and expressed her hope for the speedy completion of the project.

Pichay said the project in Estancia is part of the President's 10-point agenda to provide safe and potable water to all waterless barangays by 2010 and part of the 220 water supply system development projects that LWUA has targeted to complete this year.

With LWUA providing a P25-million grant, the town worked on its counterpart by securing a P5-million soft loan also from LWUA which is payable over a 10-year period.

The project includes the drilling of additional well sources, provision of electro-mechanical and chlorination equipment, installation of additional transmission and distribution pipelines and new metered service connections and the construction of a 250-cubic meter capacity reservoir.

The project is expected to generate an additional 1,500 service connections from the current 975 water connections.

Mayor Mosqueda earlier thanked the President and LWUA for the project which he said will meet his town's growing water needs and help attract influx of investment.

"Imagine the hundreds of families and thousands of people who stand to benefit from the project. This will really translate into the delivery of efficient basic services as expected of us public servants," Mosqueda said.
22 October , 2009