On December 10, 2018, BWSI formally signed up its 63rd franchise, with the ratification of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to upgrade, operate, manage and maintain a Level III water system in the peri-urban municipality of BUUG, Zamboanga Sibugay. The event was a precious moment for both the LGU of Buug, under the firm leadership of Hon. Mayor Jonam Lagas, and for South Balibago Resources, Inc (SBRI) – the latter which had commenced its studies for Buug as far back as January 2018.
For Buug, BWSI/SBRI represents the LGU’s most ambitious and largest private-led undertaking to date. The LGU aspires for the total rehabilitation and expansion of the present operations of the extant municipal waterworks in order to stimulate the local economy, uplift domestic health and security, and attract external investors. For SBRI, Buug represented the company’s first successful initiative in the Zamboanga Peninsula – and officially carves out a path for the group to explore other models of water supply partnership and operations in the largely interconnected and water-stressed regions of Zamboanga.
BWSI’s pilot program in Buug involves the rehabilitation of the existing piped network of the Waterworks, the upgrading of existing spring sources, and service extension in five populous barangays. BWSI shall assume the present commercial operations of the Waterworks that includes at least 1,400 billed customers as of 2019.
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