LUCIO C. TAN-LED MacroAsia Corp. through its unit is further expanding its water business with the groundbreaking of a desalination plant project in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu.
“We are pleased to announce that the groundbreaking ceremony for the seawater desalination plant project in Lapu-Lapu City, led by Summa Water Resources, Inc. (SWRI) through its subsidiary CSWater Lapu-Lapu, Inc. (CSWLL), took place today, Sept. 18, 2024,” MacroAsia said in a disclosure to the stock exchange on Wednesday.
Summa Water Resources is 60%-owned by MacroAsia through its subsidiary Allied Water Services, Inc.
“This project is a vital response to the city’s growing water needs,” the company said.
The initial phase involves the construction of a 15-million- liter-per-day (MLD) desalination plant in Punta Engaño and a 500-cubic-meter-per-day desalination facility on Olango Island.
However, recent disclosures have presented varying details about the project’s initial phase.
In a disclosure in May this year, MacroAsia announced that CSWater Lapu-Lapu had received the notice to proceed for the seawater desalination project from the local government of Lapu-Lapu City. It was stated that the initial phase involves constructing and operating a 30-MLD seawater desalination plant in Punta Engaño, with a subsequent expansion in Phase 2 to add another 30-MLD capacity for other areas in Lapu-Lapu City.
In June 2019, CSWater signed a bulk water supply contract with the government of Lapu-Lapu City for a 60-MLD desalination plant, which it said would be the first large-scale desalination plant in the Philippines.
MacroAsia through its unit has business in aviation support, aircraft maintenance, repairs, and overhaul services. The company also has business in the water and mining sectors through Allied Water and MacroAsia Mining Corp.
For the second quarter, MacroAsia more than tripled its attributable net income to P431.67 million, up from P134.7 million a year ago, mainly driven by increased revenue and growth across its business units.
MacroAsia’s combined revenue for the second quarter surged by 32.8% to P2.55 billion, compared with P1.92 billion previously, the company’s financial statement showed.
At the stock exchange on Wednesday, shares in the company closed 15 centavos or 2.48% lower at P5.90 each. — Ashley Erika O. Jose
