The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), FujiClean Co., Ltd. (FujiClean), and the City Government of Baguio, led by Mayor Benjie Magalong, through the City Environment and Parks Management Office (CEPMO), entered a Proof of Concept (POC) arrangement and a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to address the growing demand for developing sewer infrastructure.
JICA will supervise the overall activities, and the city government of Baguio will cooperate with FujiClean to ensure the successful implementation of the Survey throughout the implementation period.
The objective of the discussion is to identify challenges to complying with the standards set by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) through the use of the FujiClean System. The system consists of a fiberglass-reinforced plastic (FRP) tank, supplemental chemicals, and air blowers based on biofilm to effectively remove organics and nitrogen from the wastewater from toilets.
The POC will be implemented under SDG’s Business Verification Survey framework as part of JICA’s public-private partnership programs to demonstrate Japanese-developed technologies that respond effectively to specific development challenges. FujiClean will implement a demonstration of the decentralized wastewater treatment system in the Survey at the City Engineering Office (CEO) of Baguio; currently, wastewater produced by the CEO is primarily treated by septic tanks.
The Survey will demonstrate that FujiClean products, technology, know-how, and business model have the performance to achieve the DENR Administrative Orders on the standards for Class “A” water body classification and will create a solution to effectively develop sewer infrastructure by combining Centralized treatment plant system and FujiClean Decentralized Treatment system.
As part of the POC, FujiClean will Install the decentralized wastewater treatment system with the application of an Environmental impact assessment (EIA) report, Clear Marcos Highway Watershed Forest Reserve Protected Area, Demonstrate the treatment performance to comply with the DENR standards, Conduct a seminar to raise awareness of FujiClean products; evaluate the impact of FujiClean products in terms of environment and economy; conduct training to local offices for proper operation of FujiClean products, conduct treated water quality tests, chemical supply and replacement parts for air blowers, and warranty for accessories and FRP tank.
As a partner in the POC, LGU Baguio will provide support as needed by appointing city personnel, securing areas for installation and demonstration, securing a location to store chemicals, offering topographical data to the Survey, ensuring the FujiClean products, technique, and knowledge will not be used for military purposes.
JICA Guidelines for Environmental and Societal Considerations shall be applied to ensure appropriate considerations for the environmental and social impacts in the Survey.
After the product is installed and commissioning is completed, FujiClean will carry out a 1-year verification of its product performance to ensure that it operates appropriately within the Survey period. After the verification, LGU Baguio will conduct proper and effective product operation and maintenance.
The product will be handed over and transferred to LGU Baguio after the end of the POC. The demonstration of the decentralized wastewater treatment system shows commitment from the LGU Baguio to improving the waterbody quality and raising awareness of sanitation improvement
Photo by: Ezer Owindo
