5 PPP projects up for Aquino OK

FIVE public-private partnership projects worth a total of P123.6 billion are scheduled for President Aquino’s approval next month as the PPP Center seeks to roll out at least seven more projects before the term of the current administration ends in mid-2016.

On the sidelines of a forum organized by think tank Center for Scientific Research and Strategic Development Inc. (CSRSDI), PPP Center Executive Director Cosette V. Canilao told the Inquirer that a National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Board meeting tentatively scheduled in the first week of November would tackle these projects.

The said projects are the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) Development Project; North Luzon Expressway (NLEx)-South Luzon Expressway (SLEx) Connector Road; Batangas-Manila (BatMan) 1 Natural Gas Pipeline Project; Plaridel Bypass Toll Road; and Philippine Travel Center Complex Project.
The Neda Board is chaired by the President.

The P74.6-billion Naia project, to be implemented by the Department of Transportation and Communications 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 P23.2-billion, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)-led NLEx-SLEx Connector Road, meanwhile, involves the construction as well as the operation and maintenance (O&M) of an eight-kilometer, four-lane elevated expressway above the Philippine National Railways from C3 Road in Caloocan City to Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3.

The P14.7-billion BatMan 1 would facilitate the delivery and supply of natural gas via a 110-km transmission pipeline from Batangas province to Metro Manila. This Philippine National Oil Co.-led energy project will involve a private partner to build pipelines and install compressor, control and metering stations, supervisory control and data acquisition or Scada systems, and valves.

The P9.4-billion, DPWH-led Plaridel Bypass Toll Road project will convert the existing 24.6-km two-lane road traversing five municipalities in Bulacan into a four-lane expressway.

The P1.8-billion Philippine Travel Center Complex—the Department of Tourism’s first PPP project—would involve the “financing, design, construction and maintenance of a mixed-use, multimodal complex that will house various tourism-related agencies in Intramuros,” the PPP Center said.

Canilao told the CSRSDI forum that to date, 10 PPP projects had been awarded, 14 projects were currently under procurement, while two others were for roll-out.

The PPP Center chief said seven more projects were pending approval of relevant government bodies before the end of the Aquino administration.