CDIA

CDIA, currently at the midpoint of its ongoing project preparation study (PPS) in Tacloban City,
Philippines, has identified critical investments on faecal sludge and wastewater management to
address the city’s sanitation and water pollution problems. When implemented, the investments
being planned are expected to lead to a better environment and water quality of bays and rivers
surrounding the city, toward improved public health and overall urban livability.
Tacloban City is a highly urbanized commercial and financial center of the Eastern Visayas
Region. Like many other coastal cities in the Philippines, it is highly susceptible to natural
disasters and the impacts of climate change. In 2013, it was among the areas severely hit by
Super Typhoon Haiyan, the strongest typhoon ever recorded in recent world history.
As Haiyan devastated settlements in Tacloban’s coastal areas, the city government relocated
16,000 families to higher ground in the northern part of the city. The resettlement area, however,
as with other areas of Tacloban City, is lacking basic infrastructure and services like sanitation.
Typically, city residents use on-site sanitation facilities, primarily pour flush toilets with septic
tanks. Without systems for desludging and wastewater, all septic tank effluent and grey water is
discharged to the poorly maintained drainage system toward inland water bodies and ultimately
to Anibong, Cancabato and Panalaron Bays and San Juanico Strait. A cholera outbreak in
Tacloban in 2022 was attributed to pollution resulting from wastewater discharge from the city’s
northern resettlement areas.
To ensure that sanitation services are made available to residents in Tacloban North and protect
marine waters, the city government sought CDIA’s support to prepare a feasibility study and
preliminary design for a faecal sludge management (FSM) project for the resettlement areas and
wastewater treatment facility for commercial areas.
Following a comprehensive review of the city’s water and sanitation situation and consultations
with various stakeholders, CDIA identified a phased investment project to address the
wastewater pollution problem in Tacloban. The project was proposed to city stakeholders during
the interim workshop for the project preparation study held on 21 February 2023.
The investment project seeks to produce four outputs: 1) FSM established in Tacloban City and
faecal sludge treatment facilities; 2) wastewater facilities improved in North Tacloban
resettlement subdivisions; 3) wastewater collected and treated in South Tacloban; and 4) capacity
building on FSM and wastewater management.
Some of the key measures include the upgrading of the existing faecal sludge treatment plant
(FSTP) in Barangay Sto. Niño and the construction of a new FSTP in Brgy. San Jose. Other
measures include construction of anaerobic baffled reactors plus reed beds, improvement of
drainage system, development of drainage and wastewater master plan for the whole city, and
construction of sewage treatment plants for the Astrodome as well as public market and fish port.
Following the acceptance of the proposed investments by the city government, CDIA will then
move on to Stage 2 of its PPS. This next stage will undertake the feasibility study and
preliminary design of the FSM and wastewater projects. It will also conduct due diligence
activities and determine the appropriate financing mechanism for the project.
The inadequate sanitation services in Tacloban City in the Philippines have led to wastewater
overflows, poor water quality in rivers and bays, and most notably a cholera outbreak in 2022.
With support from CDIA, the city government has developed a long-term and city-wide
wastewater and faecal sludge management (FSM) program with strategic investments that can be
implemented in a phased manner from 2022 to 2052.
Aimed to enhance the environmental conditions, quality of life, and economic development in
Tacloban City, the investments, which are estimated at the base cost of US$131, will cover a
range of interventions, which were identified from a series of stakeholder consultations and
comprehensive review of the city’s water and sanitation situation.
In the immediate term, the investments include developing the city’s FSM program, upgrading
the faecal sludge treatment plant (FSTP) in Barangay Sto. Nino, developing an FSTP in San
Jose, enhancing the North Tacloban wastewater management, setting up commercial wastewater
treatment plants, and key activities toward the development of Tacloban City Sewerage and
Drainage Master Plan, etc. CDIA’s team of consultants has undertaken preliminary designs and
cost estimates for the infrastructure sub-projects included in the initial stage.
Other investments to be carried out in the long run include developing combined sewerage
systems in Mangonbangon, Tanghas-Lirang, Burayan, and Tigbao catchment areas, among
others.
At the Final Workshop held on 20 June 2023 to culminate the nine-month-long project
preparation study (PPS) supported by CDIA, its consultants discussed the proposed investments
with government officials and local stakeholders.
Representatives from the regional offices of the Department of Public Works and Highways
(DPWH), National Housing Authority (NHA), and National Economic Development Authority
(NEDA), as well as officials from the Tacloban City Planning and Development Office, Public-
Private Partnership (PPP) Center of the Philippines and other relevant stakeholders joined the
said workshop.
“I would like to commend the team and the city for all their efforts to get to this final stage,” said
Lara Arjan, Asian Development Bank (ADB) Project Officer in charge of CDIA during her
welcome remarks. “It was not easy, but we had the support we needed from the city. I look
forward to seeing the recommendations of the study being implemented,” she added.
Upon implementation, the investments are expected to improve access to quality sanitation
services in the city, particularly in the North Tacloban resettlement areas, where 40% of the
population has been relocated following the onslaught of Super Typhoon Haiyan in 2013, the
strongest typhoon ever recorded in modern world history.
The new wastewater treatment facilities in the resettlement areas, coupled with the setting up of
treatment plants at the outfall of major rivers and key commercial facilities in the southern part
of the city will prevent the discharge of septic tank effluent and grey water to the drainage
system and on to inland water bodies, the bays surrounding the city, and San Juanico Strait. The
measures are likewise expected to prevent another cholera outbreak, which in 2022 affected over
400 residents.
Ultimately, the proposed interventions are expected to enhance the inclusiveness, sustainability,
and livability of Tacloban City.

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CDIA, currently at the midpoint of its ongoing project preparation study (PPS) in Tacloban City,

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