West Zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services, Inc. said its board has approved an investment in a public-private partnership (PPP) project with Korea Water Resources Corp. (K-Water) and the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) to provide water and wastewater services in New Clark City, the master-planned metropolis being developed in Capas, Tarlac.

New Clark City is a 9,450-hectare government-backed development that was conceived after Typhoon Yolanda struck in 2013 as a disaster-resilient growth center capable of hosting government offices and businesses outside Metro Manila, and it later hosted the athletics venues and athletes' village of the 2019 Southeast Asian Games.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange on Thursday, Maynilad said the project is contemplated to have a 25-year term.

"The project is intended to provide water supply and wastewater services within the New Clark City and is contemplated to have a 25-year term," Maynilad said.

The company did not disclose the value of the approved investment.

BCDA previously said Maynilad and K-Water had submitted a P15-billion unsolicited proposal to develop a water supply and management system for New Clark City. The agency had also said the proposed deal would run for 50 years. That is double the 25-year term indicated in Maynilad's disclosure.

K-Water is South Korea's state-run agency responsible for the country's water resources. The agency also won the Philippine government's 2010 privatization auction for the Angat hydropower plant, which draws from the dam that supplies most of Metro Manila's raw water.

Maynilad President and Chief Executive Officer Ramoncito S. Fernandez previously said the company plans to increase its investments in New Clark City over the next five years as part of its long-term expansion strategy.

Maynilad provides water and wastewater services in the West Zone, one of the two concession areas established when the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System privatized its operations in 1997, with Manila Water Company, Inc. serving the East Zone. The West Zone covers 11 cities in Metro Manila, including three with partial coverage, as well as parts of Cavite province.

For the first six months, Maynilad said its income rose 14% to P8.51 billion, while revenues increased 4.1% to P19.11 billion.

Metro Pacific Investments Corp., Maynilad's majority shareholder, is one of three Philippine subsidiaries of First Pacific Co. Ltd., alongside Philex Mining Corp. and PLDT Inc.

On Thursday, Maynilad shares fell 1.53% to close at P17.98 apiece. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera