Philippines nationals: BCDA/NGAC Water and Wastewater Regulatory Specialist

The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA or the “Client”) is a development corporation under 
the Office of the President of the Philippines. BCDA is vested with corporate powers under Republic Act 
(RA) 7227 (Bases Conversion and Development Act of 1992). BCDA is mandated to transform former US 
military bases into alternative productive civilian use. It aims to create economic opportunities in the 
country through its establishment of integrated developments, business centers and communities. BCDA is 
in charge of the redevelopment of the former US Clark military base as a new city. New Clark City (NCC) 
will be Philippines’ first smart, green and disaster-resilient city. It is located in a rapidly growing 
area approximately 100km north of Manila, in the municipalities of Capas and Bamban, Tarlac Province. 

The Office of Public–Private Partnership of the Asian Development Bank (ADB OPPP) has been mandated to 
act as transaction advisor for the Client with focus on Infrastructure Packages within NCC that can be 
procured through public–private partnerships (PPP). The list of Infrastructure Packages where OPPP is 
expected to advise includes transportation, solid waste management, gas distribution network, 
information, technology and communications infrastructure, affordable housing, power, food terminal, 
water and sanitation, etc. To date, OPPP, as transaction advisor to BCDA, has already closed three 
Infrastructure Packages under JV modalities (90% private sector, 10% BCDA), namely: 

	National Government Administrative Center (NGAC): this PHP13 billion project reached financial close 
in May 2018 and is being developed by Alloy MTD of Malaysia. 
	Water and Wastewater (W&W): this PHP10 billion project reached financial close in December 2018 and is 
being developed by a consortium of companies led by Prime Water Infrastructure Corporation of the 
Philippines. 
	Power Distribution (PD): this PHP6.3 billion project reached commercial close in April 2019 and is 
being developed by a consortium of four companies consisting of Meralco (Philippines) as well as 
Marubeni, Chubu Electric and Kansai Electric (Japan). 

Under the Water and Wastewater Project, there are two regulatory bodies for the regulation of water and 
wastewater. The water tariff is regulated by National Water Resources Board (NWRB) whereas BCDA will be 
the regulator for the wastewater tariff. BCDA is seeking OPPP/AP3F Project Performance Monitoring 
assistance for setting up the water and wastewater regulatory regime for the Water and Wastewater 
Project. The Regulatory Specialist – Water and Wastewater (the “Specialist”) will work along with the 
Tariff Specialist – Water and Wastewater and the local legal counsel to frame the water and wastewater 
regulations for New Clark City and support BCDA in setting up the regulatory framework.

The scope of work will primarily involve setting up the regulatory framework for the water and 
wastewater regulations for the New Clark City Water and Wastewater project, with NWRB as the regulatory 
authority for water and BCDA as the regulatory authority for wastewater.

The Specialist will engage with the Client and other external consultants as required. 
1.	Review/validate all legal requirements relating to tariff setting of water and wastewater projects 
(legal review to identify legal processes and impediments/requirements, including review of the 
regulatory framework, NWRB Primer on Tariff Setting, relevant jurisprudence and previous rulings, 
including Commission on Audit issuances that might have an impact on the project) and suggest 
appropriate legal and regulatory approaches to be undertaken in the implementation of the proposed 
project;

2.	Review the potential regulations in the pipeline (including the House Bill No.4944 for the 
establishment of the Water Regulatory Commission, House Bill No.78, etc.) as applicable and ensure the 
BCDA wastewater regulatory guidelines are in line with any proposed regulation; 

3.	Benchmarking of the regulatory framework for water and wastewater in the Philippines to other 
countries to obtain the best practices in policy and execution;

4.	Assist in drafting the wastewater regulatory guidelines for New Clark City and reviewing the NWRB 
water regulatory guidelines, working along with the Tariff Specialist and the local legal counsel;

5.	Assistance in the development of a regulatory framework for Reuse/Recycled/Non-Potable Water (RRNW) 
regulations and policies for New Clark City considering that RRNW is different from wastewater in the 
aspects of quality and organic characteristics, along with the local legal counsel;
6.	Assist BCDA in setting up the Wastewater Regulatory office with BCDA as the regulatory authority;

7.	Conduct training seminars for BCDA personnel to educate them on the workings of the regulatory office 
and the relevant legal and regulatory frameworks in the Philippines;

8.	Coordinate with internal and external stakeholders in getting the necessary approvals for setting up 
the water and wastewater regulatory regime; and

9.	Assist the Client in all the water and wastewater regulatory aspects relevant to the W&W project and 
coordinate with the other consultants.