4 priority PPP projects worth P141B set
Four public-private partnership (PPP) projects with an indicative cost of P141 billion will be presented to the National Economic and Development Authority’s (Neda) board for approval on Monday.
On the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Senior Finance Officials’ meeting last Friday, PPP Center deputy executive director Eleazar E. Ricorte told reporters that the four infrastructure projects to be tackled by the joint Neda-Investment Coordination Committee (ICC) technical board and Cabinet committee meeting were the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 4, the Batangas-Manila (BatMan) 1 natural gas pipeline, the C-5 modern bus transit system and the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) development project.
“There’s a high chance of these projects being approved because these are priority projects,” Ricote said.
Once cleared by the Neda-ICC, the four projects will be forwarded to the Cabinet-level Neda Board chaired by the President for final approval.
The P50.2-billion Ortigas-Taytay LRT Line 4 project to be implemented by the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) will run from the intersection of Ortigas Avenue and Edsa to the municipality of Taytay in Rizal. The 11-kilometer rail project will have six stations passing through Ortigas Avenue and Taytay Diversion Road.
The P10.5-billion BatMan 1, meanwhile, will facilitate the delivery and supply of natural gas via a 110-kilometer transmission pipeline from Batangas province to Metro Manila. This Philippine National Oil Co.-led energy project will entail a private partner to build pipelines as well as install compressor, control and metering stations, supervisory control and data acquisition systems and valves.
The DOTC-led C-5 modern bus transit system worth P6.3 billion aims to connect the cities of Parañaque, Taguig, Makati, Quezon City and Valenzuela through a bus rapid transit (BRT) system along C-5 Road. The private sector partner will finance, build and develop the BRT while operating an interim bus service.
The Naia development project to be jointly implemented by the DOTC and the Manila International Airport Authority, which will cost P74.6 billion, “will improve, upgrade and enhance the operational efficiencies of all existing terminals of the Naia covering both landside and airside (except air traffic services) to meet the International Civil Aviation Organization standards and develop the main gateway airport of the Philippines,” according to the PPP Center.
