Neda unit readies more PPP projects

ROLANDO G. TUNGPALAN. PHOTO FROM NEDA.GOV.PH

The National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) is expected to give the go-ahead for the rollout of five public-private partnership (PPP) projects alongside two more infrastructure developments in the pipeline, including the extension of the light rail system to Divisoria.

Neda Deputy Director General Rolando G. Tungpalan told reporters yesterday that the agency’s joint investment coordination committee (ICC) comprised of the technical board and the Cabinet committee would meet today to discuss a total of seven projects.

The two new projects are the second phase of the Bureau of Fire Protection’s (BFP) capability-building program, which would be rolled out by the Department of the Interior and Local Government, and the proposed west extension of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 2.

Tungpalan said the westward extension from Recto station, which was proposed by the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), would bring the western end of LRT 2 to the Divisoria area, a shopping mecca in the city of Manila.

The BFP-led project, meanwhile, would involve the purchase of up to 76 fire trucks from Austria, the Neda official disclosed.

Also to be discussed by the Neda ICC are five PPP projects, including the P19.33-billion Motor Vehicle Inspections System; P177.22-billion south line of the North-South Railway, and the P374.5-billion Makati-Pasay-Taguig Mass Transit System Loop project, all three of which will be bid out by the DOTC.