Naia upgrade, 3 projects up for Neda Board approval

At least four public-private partnership or PPP projects would be up for approval by the Cabinet-level, interagency National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Board at a meeting likely to be held two weeks from now, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said on Monday.

But Balisacan, who is also the director general of Neda, declined to identify the four big-ticket infrastructure projects during an interview with reporters on the sidelines of the 2016 budget briefing at the House of Representatives.

The Neda chief only said the agenda for the next board meeting to be chaired by President Aquino would include a mix of new projects as well as previously approved projects that need some tweaking.

The PPP Center website showed that four infrastructure projects earlier approved by the Neda-Investment Coordination Committee (ICC) still need the green light of the Neda Board.

The four PPP projects are the following: P74.6-billion Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) development project; P64.7-billion Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 6; P50.2-billion LRT Line 4; and the P11.9-billion Batangas-Manila (BatMan) 1 natural gas pipeline.

The Naia development project, to be jointly implemented by the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) and the Manila International Airport Authority, “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,” the PPP Center website read.

The Ortigas-Taytay LRT Line 4 project to be implemented by the DOTC would run from the intersection of Ortigas Avenue and Edsa to Taytay, Rizal. This 11-kilometer rail project would have six stations passing through Ortigas Avenue and Taytay Diversion Road.

The DOTC-led, 19-kilometer LRT Line 6, meanwhile, would traverse Bacoor to Dasmariñas City in Cavite. It would have seven stations to be built along Aguinaldo Highway.

The P10.5-billion BatMan 1, on the other hand, would facilitate the delivery and supply of natural gas via a 110-kilometer transmission pipeline from Batangas province to Metro Manila. The project is lead by the Philippine National Oil Co.

Balisacan told legislators at the hearing that the Aquino government has already identified a total of 52 PPP projects worth P1.1 trillion, through which the private sector could partner with the government to build vital infrastructure.
Twelve projects worth P285 billion are currently being implemented.