THE Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) celebrates Manila Water's milestone in its landmark Novaliches-Balara Aqueduct 4 (NBAQ4) project as the tunnel-boring machine (TBM) being utilized for the project has already broken through at the La Mesa Reservoir, more than seven kilometers away from its entry shaft at Balara in Quezon City. The P5.5B NBAQ4 project, one of the largest MWSS-led water supply infrastructure projects undertaken by Manila Water, entails the construction of a fourth aqueduct from the La Mesa Reservoir to the Balara Treatment Plants (BTP) 1 and 2 to improve the reliability and security of the raw water transmission system.

In a simple ceremony held last August 14 to celebrate this milestone, workers and guests witnessed the exposure of the TBM cutter head from the soft concrete at the exit shaft. The tunnel-boring machine technology, used for the first time in Metro Manila for this project, has been laying the 7.30-kilometer long and 3.10-meter diameter NBAQ4 underneath Commonwealth Avenue, without impact to traffic since its launch on January 28, 2020. With the pipelaying complete, the TBM named "Dalisay" and its accessories will now be dismantled and the construction of intake tower, outlet tower, and downstream network system will now commence. The project is expected to be completed by June 2022. Manila Water's partners in this project are Arup as the project management consultant; and Novabala joint venture, the project's design and build contractor composed of CMC di Ravenna (Italy), First Balfour, Inc. (Philippines), and Chun Wo Engineering (Hong Kong).

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