By Mary Ann Ll. Reyes (The Philippine Star) Updated September 27, 2009 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - Barely three years under new management, Maynilad Water Services Inc. has made significant improvements in water and sewerage services in the west zone of the Greater Manila Area - registering record performance under its new owners.

To date, around P13 billion has been spent in the last two years and another P7 billion has been budgeted for 2009 to improve the water and wastewater system  in the west zone.

The three-year investment by Metro Pacific Investments (MPIC) and DMCI Holdings Inc. (DMCI) already exceeds the P8 billion shelled out by the previous owners during the 10 years they ran the water firm, Maynilad officials noted.

Since January 2007, Maynilad has laid more than 1,100 kilometers of new pipes to connect over 110,000 households. This is the most number of households  connected in the history of the concession over the same period.

As of August 2009, nearly 60 percent of 790,000 Maynilad households now enjoy 24-hour water service, while an estimated 74 percent receive water at seven  pounds per square inch (psi) or stronger pressure.