DENR prepares projects for possible investments

SOME 135 water projects are open for private sector investments, Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga said on Wednesday.

The projects are under the Water Resources Management Office, a newly established office under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

Yulo-Loyzaga, who spoke at the Pilipinas Conference 2023 in Makati, said the 135 water projects were analyzed regionally and broken down per province and river system.

“Through this, we hope to increase the number of persons with access to drinking water significantly and generate inexpensive hydropower to add to the renewable energy mix of the country,” she added.

A portion of receipts collected from the new projects will be used to further develop the watersheds that support water resources, Yulo-Loyzaga continued.

Environment Undersecretary Carlos Primo David explained during the same event that they had identified and located all water assets in the country.

“And we have done so in the last 11 months, we have mapped out all water assets of the country including rivers, lakes, groundwater as well as where and how much water is being extracted by industries, communities and the local government units,” David said.

He also said that key players in the water sector were brought together, with the next step that of private sector participation.

“Without the third step, we cannot go from having all these natural assets to using it for economic development,” he said.

One of the examples of the potential investment areas is the Alawihao Dam in Daet, Camarines Norte, that has excess water that can be used to provide water to the entire city of Daet.

The Tago River in Surigao del Sur, meanwhile, has enough water to supply around 10 million people and also used for hydropower purposes.

Aside from dams, there are also lakes included on their list of water projects. David said the complete list of the projects would be released on December 15.

“Hopefully, with the partnership with the private sector, we are able to provide very important water to communities at the same time make it work for economic development,” he added.

“It is about time that we capitalized this [water] asset and make it work toward economic development and progress for local communities.”

Yulo-Loyzaga also said that next year, they would be releasing a list of priority investment areas for minerals and terrestrial coastal marine resources for green and blue carbon.

Within the first quarter of 2024, 1 million hectares of classified government forest lands to be opened to investments will be announced, she added.