Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
Three public-private partnership (PPP) projects worth P188.8 billion will be up for President Benigno Aquino III’s approval on Friday, along with proposed tweaks in the terms of two previously approved PPPs and other infrastructure projects that will benefit areas outside Metro Manila, Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said.
Balisacan told the Inquirer that at Friday’s National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Board meeting, the President’s go-ahead would be sought to roll out three additional PPP projects: the P74.6-billion Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) Development Project; P64-billion Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 6; and P50.2-billion LRT Line 4.
The Naia Development Project, which will 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,” according to the PPP Center website.
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-km LRT Line 6, meanwhile, would run from Bacoor to Dasmariñas City in Cavite. It would have seven stations to be built along Aguinaldo Highway.
Balisacan said the Cabinet-level, interagency Neda Board chaired by the President will also discuss possible changes in two previously approved PPP projects: the P122.8-billion Laguna Lakeshore Expressway-Dike Project, and the P50.2-billion Regional Prison Facilities through PPP.
“The changes in the scope of these two PPP projects were a result of one-on-one meetings with prospective bidders. We will inform the Neda Board of the changes in the bidding documents,” Balisacan said, without elaborating.
The 47-km Laguna Lakeshore Expressway-Dike Project will run from Taguig City to the Los Baños Bay boundary in Laguna. The flood control dike will have a six-lane expressway toll road above it.
Under the Regional Prison Facilities through PPP project, meanwhile, the private partner will build and maintain a modern prison facility in Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija that will accommodate 26,880 inmates.
Besides these PPP projects, the Neda Board will also tackle other infrastructure projects such as the Naga Airport, the Clark International Airport Terminal Project, the Metro Manila Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) System, irrigation projects, as well as the Department of Agrarian Reform’s Inclusive Partnerships for Agricultural Competitiveness Project, Balisacan said.