Manila Water Company continues to scout for prospective partners in Indonesia where it is aiming to expand its operations.

In an interview with reporters at the sidelines of Manila Water's listing anniversary at the Philippine Stock Exchange, MWC regulation and corporate development director Perry Rivera said the firm has been looking at Indonesia for expansion “for quite some time already.”

“But the challenge there is… it's very important when we enter a new market we need to have a partner, a local partner, a strategic partner that shares our own management style and vision as far as growing the market,” said Rivera.

He noted that finding a partner is a bigger priority and comes even before the economics of the project. Rivera said they still have not found a partner although they hope to talk to a few prospective partners within the year.

Rivera said MWC will be banking on its being partly owned by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) which is a key partner of the company as it goes regional. “They can provide a lot of leads and they can identify a lot of potential partners for manila water,” he added.

He noted that Indonesia has always been on the radar screen of Manila Water. “We are aware of the challenges faced by the water sector in Indonesia…you see the same realities that we faced (in Manila)a dozen years ago,” Rivera said.

The Indonesian water system is also marked by high system loss, decades of under-investment in the water infrastructure, and a poor regulatory system. Rivera explained that “they are not anchored on cost reflective tariff so… it's very difficult to invite the private sector.

However, he said there is a lot of potential in Indonesia since it has a larger population of 200 million and it is growing faster than the Philippines. Indonesia has an emerging metropolis and its metropolitan areas are much bigger than those in the Philippines.

“The key to sustaining these areas would be water infrastructure,” noted Rivera adding that it will take one to two years before a project can start development.

As for cost, it will require investments of $30 million to $50 million if its a bulk water supply project. If it's a distribution project, the cost can be much bigger because there is a need to replace the pipes.

Rivera said their Philippine experience will serve the company well in Indonesia since there are basic components that can be applied although the firm will have to adapt it to the local setting.

He said MWC is open to investing in either bulk water supply or water distribution projects in Indonesia.