Photo shows Manila Water Operations Group Director Geodino Carpio with ADB Alternate Governor to Sri Lanka and Secretary of Ministry of Finance and Planning P. B. Jayasundera and other delegates from the Asian Development Bank during a recent visit at the East La Mesa Treatment Plant in Quezon City.
Manila Water President and CEO Gerardo C. Ablaza, Jr. led officials from the East Zone water and used water service provider in welcoming government delegation from Sri Lanka spearheaded by ADB Alternate Governor to Sri Lanka and Secretary of Ministry of Finance and Planning P. B. Jayasundera, and officials from the Asian Development Bank in a recent visit to the concessionaire’s East La Mesa Treatment Plant in Quezon City.
Virgilio C. Rivera., Jr., Group Director for Corporate Strategy and Development shared the transformation story of Manila Water from a fledgling and underperforming utility in 1997 when it took over the operation and management of the state’s Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System into a world-class company through a combination of technical and social interventions backed up by the development of the firm’s human capital.
The visit was complemented by a tour of the East La Mesa Treatment Plant, Manila Water’s third water treatment facility providing water to the elevated areas of Rodriguez and San Mateo in Rizal and portions of Marikina. Operations Group Director Geodino V. Carpio briefed the foreign delegates on the plant’s operations, its role in promoting water stewardship, good practices in urban water management, among others.
ADB Alternate Governor to Sri Lanka and Secretary of Ministry of Finance and Planning P. B. Jayasundera was very appreciative of the visit and said, “Benchmarking best practices of water companies across the region, like Manila Water of the Philippines, provides valuable insights and knowledge that can best be used as case studies for countries with similar backgrounds, resources and problems.”