Upper Wawa Dam to start operations by end of 2025

FILE: Wawa Dam in Rodriguez, Rizal. (Photo By patrickroque001/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)

MANILA – The Upper Wawa Dam is on track to begin commercial operations by the end of 2025, Prime Infra-led WawaJVCo Inc. said on Wednesday.

In a statement, the company said construction progress in the Upper Wawa Dam, which is the second phase of the Wawa Bulk Water Supply Project, is over 70 percent as of December 2023.

The 85-meter roller-compacted concrete dam is scheduled to be completed in a few months, followed by the completion of the rest of the plant.

Once operational, the dam is expected to provide over 700 million liters per day (MLD) of water supply to residents of the greater Metro Manila area, including the province of Rizal.

The Upper Wawa Dam will also help mitigate the perennial problem of flooding in the downstream areas and localities of the Marikina River.

“The exceptional construction pace at Upper Wawa Dam showcases Prime Infra’s commitment to delivering on our commitments in developing water supply infrastructure at this scale.

We are pleased that the project continues to be materially ahead of schedule. We take great pride in ensuring that we sustain this pace and do so safely by 2025,” said Prime Infra President and CEO Guillaume Lucci.

“The Wawa Bulk Water Supply Project aims to secure sufficient capacity to meet the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) and its concessionaires’ water needs. Phase 1 became operational in record time since October 2022,” Lucci added.

The Wawa Bulk Water Supply Project in Rizal is one of the national government’s infrastructure flagship projects that will address water security, specifically in the MWSS service area.

The project is the largest water supply dam to be constructed in over 50 years when Angat Dam was built.

The dam will increase the Manila Water Company’s (MWC) capacity by over 30 percent.