GATS
Shifting the boundary of the state: the privatization and regulation of water service in metropolitan Manila
The privatisation of the Manila Waterworks and Sewerage System
Authors:
R. Fabella
Publisher:
Centre on Regulation and Competition, Manchester, 2006
This online book explores the privatisation of the Manila Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS). It presents details on how the MWSS privatisation came about and how the regulation of water emerged and evolved. It seeks to draw out lessons that can be learned, circumstances that can be replicated and the pitfalls and missteps that can be avoided.
The volume seeks to answer the following questions, five years after the privatisation and regulation of water and sanitation services in Metro Manila:
- was the gamble the authorities took justified by the eventual payoffs to the public?
- how did the initial expertise deficit as well as the lack of a stronger legal platform for water regulation affect the quality of regulation?
- how did the decision to split the service area into two zones empower the regulators?
- how much did corporate culture weigh on the markedly different performance of the two concessionaires?
