The state-run Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) is set to award the New Clark City water supply and wastewater contract to the consortium of Maynilad Water Services, Inc. and Korea Water Resources Corp. (K-Water) after no parties emerged in the Swiss Challenge.

“I think there was no challenger,” BCDA President and Chief Executive Officer Joshua M. Bingcang told reporters on the sidelines of the Shareholders’ Association of the Philippines general membership meeting on Tuesday. “We’re going to ask those who attended the pre-bid conference why they did not submit,” he added.

The Maynilad–K-Water consortium was granted original proponent (OP) status for the P15-billion project. The BCDA subsequently opened the deal to a Swiss Challenge, a procurement process in which other parties are invited to submit offers superior to that of the original proponent. Under challenge rules, the OP retains the option to match any challenger’s offer. With no rival bid submitted, the agency said it hopes to award the contract by December.

The BCDA is the Philippine government agency charged with converting former United States military bases, including the Clark area, into civilian economic use. New Clark City, a master-planned development rising within the Clark Special Economic Zone in Tarlac province, is one of its flagship undertakings.

Maynilad Water Services is the private concessionaire providing water and wastewater services in Metro Manila’s West Zone, while K-Water is South Korea’s state-controlled water resources company, which develops and operates water infrastructure domestically and abroad.

According to the BCDA, the water deal is expected to help attract more locators to New Clark City, particularly in targeted industries such as advanced manufacturing, data centers, and other high-value economic activities. Water and wastewater capacity is a baseline utility requirement for these sectors — data centers depend on steady supply for cooling systems, while advanced manufacturing facilities draw on process water for production runs — making utility readiness one of the infrastructure criteria companies typically weigh before committing to a site.

Separately, the BCDA said it is in talks with a European aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) provider seeking to invest $50 million in a Clark expansion.

“We discussed the terms of partnership and financing,” Mr. Bingcang said.

The proposed facility will rise on a 40-hectare site within Clark International Airport. MRO operations require hangar space and certified technical infrastructure, which makes land availability inside an airport perimeter a decisive siting factor for providers of these services.

Report by Beatriz Marie D. Cruz, originally published by BusinessWorld on Nov. 3, 2026.

Source: BusinessWorld