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MAYNILAD Water Services Inc. said a local court officially gave it
the green light to exit from rehabilitation, confirming an earlier
Manila Times report.
In a statement, Maynilad said the court approved
on February 6, 2008 on the company’s petition to exit
rehabilitation after the water concessionaire settled all its
obligations, including arrears to state-run Metropolitan Waterworks
and Sewerage System (MWSS).
“We prepaid a total of approximately $232
million of loans from local and foreign banks and to MWSS,” Randolph
Estrellado, Maynilad chief financial officer, said.
Maynilad holds MWSS’ 25-year west zone
concession, which cover parts of the cities of Manila, Pasay, Parañaque,
Kalookan, Muntinlupa, Las Piñas and Valenzuela and Quezon. It also
sells water in Cavite City and the nearby towns of Bacoor, Kawit,
Noveleta, Rosario, and Imus in Cavite province.
Maynilad had submitted a Prepayment and
Settlement Agreement (PSA) with the company’s creditors as a
condition to its exit from rehabilitation. These loans were
originally scheduled to be fully paid in five years, or by 2013, as
provided in its Debt and Capital Restructuring Agreement (DCRA).
The company earlier filed for corporate
rehabilitation to allow it to continue operating under the financial
restrictions of the DCRA after it came close to shutting down four
years ago.
“Getting out of rehab allows us to accelerate
our capital expenditures and helps us deliver improved services to
our consumers at a faster pace,” Estrellado said.
He added that with Maynilad out of rehab, it has
gained access to more sources and less expensive forms of financing
to fund its water supply improvement projects.
With the DCRA out of the way, Maynilad can focus
on the implementation of its capital expenditure program, which aims
to attain 24-hour supply and 100 percent coverage of the west
concession by 2012. This will benefit Maynilad’s over six million
customers.
Getting out of rehab has been a priority goal of
Maynilad’s new management after the DMCI-Metro Pacific Consortium
took over the company in January 2007.
-- Euan Paulo C. Añonuevo with Ira Karen Apanay
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