MANILA, June 19 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Friday said it has approved a 126 million U.S. dollars loan to support the construction of a 15-km water transmission pipeline aimed at helping secure water supply for nearly 13 million residents in the Philippine capital region.
The Manila-based bank said the financing for the construction named Angat Water Transmission Improvement Project will help strengthen the water system's downstream transmission capacity in Metro Manila.
According to ADB, the project is part of the city's effort to rehabilitate the Umiray-Angat-Ipo dam system, which supplies about 90 percent of Metro Manila's water.
"Climate change is making annual rainfall unpredictable, putting tremendous pressure on water resource use," said Director of the Urban Development and Water Division of ADB's Southeast Asia Department Vijay Padmanabhan in a statement.
"The Philippine government is increasing investments in clean infrastructure for environmentally sustainable water resource management across the country. Through this project, ADB is helping the Philippines secure Metro Manila's water supply," Padmanabhan added.
The ADB said the new aqueduct, with a 3.6-meter diameter, will have a welded steel concrete-coated pipe. With cutting-edge technology to help it withstand magnitude 7.2 earthquakes, adding the project will reduce the risk of a system breakdown and increase the resiliency of Metro Manila's water supply.
The ADB said the loan supplements ongoing ADB financing, approved in 2016 to fund the construction of a 6.3-km modern, earthquake-resilient upstream water tunnel. It added the tunnel is expected to be completed in June, three months ahead of schedule.
Since 1974, the ADB has supported more than a dozen Metro Manila water projects, which, in addition to the current loan, includes four other loans supporting the Angat supply system. Enditem
