The Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) has announced the completion of all the components and subsequent commissioning of the Angat Water Transmission Improvement Project (AWTIP) three months ahead of schedule.
In a news statement released on Monday, MWSS said completion of AWTIP, or Tunnel 4 project, marks another milestone in the MWSS promise of water security for Metro Manila.
The completion of Tunnel 4 is the culmination of the joint efforts of the Philippine government, with the MWSS as the implementing agency and the Asian Development Bank.
The centerpiece of AWTIP is a 6.3 kilometers tunnel with a finished internal span diameter of 4 meters, designed to accommodate 19 cubic meters per second (m3 /s) raw water from Angat Dam.
The construction of the P3.29- billion tunnel project started in June 2016 and was completed in June 2020, which is three months ahead of the original completion date target in September 2020.
The AWTIP is a critical component of the Duterte administration’s water supply security program as it mitigates the risk of a partial, or total disruption of water supply for Metro Manila, according to the MWSS.
It will provide redundancy and enable the system’s full design capacity to be restored by allowing the upstream tunnels and downstream aqueducts to be sequentially closed, inspected, and rehabilitated, or decommissioned.
“I am very pleased to see the completion of Tunnel 4 as it now paves the way for the rehabilitation of the transmission system’s main components that are as old 75 years, in poor condition, and most likely not in compliance with current structural and seismic requirements,� Administrator Emmanuel B. Salamat who visited the project site said.
Meanwhile, the MWSS said that minor delays due to the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) restrictions thwarted its efforts to place on stream the additional 19 m3 /s (equivalent to 1,600 million liters per day) into the delivery system.
“We have partially operated the tunnel last April, which solved the summer’s annual water supply problem. We are currently in commissioning activities and continue to work non-stop,� the MWSS said.
Meanwhile, a one-month testing period will ensure the performance of each system and the overall system meet the design standards and operating requirements.
