The Asian Development Bank is jointly financing the study with Manila Water Company Inc to boost efforts to revive one of the Philippines' most polluted rivers. The Manila-based ADB is providing $300,000 for the six-month assessment of wastewater and sanitation needs along the Pasig River, the main waterway flowing through the capital city.
The bank said the study "should provide key information that will lead to the building of a wastewater treatment system" along the 27 km river, once a source of drinking water and fish, but now unable to support any life after receiving untreated municipal and industrial wastewater for decades, as well as solid waste.
"This study will assess what needs to be done to turn the Pasig River back into the healthy, thriving heart of the city that it once was,' said Philip Erquiaga, director general of ADB's private sector operations department.
The ADB said it was considering a loan to Manila Water for wastewater treatment system in the river, as part of its Pasig River Catchment Sewerage Project, once the study is completed. The bank said it is also providing $50,000 dollars for an education project to teach residents not to discharge waste in the river.
The bank has previously approved multimillion-dollar loans to help enhance water quality of tributaries and canals around the Pasig River and to promote redevelopment along its banks.
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