THE DEPARTMENT of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) under the Duterte administration will continue to pursue-public private partnership (PPP) projects, including a revised version of the Laguna Lakeshore Expressway Dike.
Incoming Public Works and Highways secretary Mark Villar said the Laguna Lakeshore deal, declared a failure in March when bidders snubbed the project, would still be on the table.
“We will continue to pursues the PPP projects,” Villar, whose family was part of a consortium that was eyeing the Laguna Lakeshore PPP, said last week.
He said the DPWH would also use regular government funding, aside from private sector support, to get new infrastructure projects off the ground.
The bidding for the original Laguna Expressway Dike PPP, valued at P123 billion, failed after bidders cited a combination of its complexity, legal and political uncertainties, with the ongoing government transition. President-elect Rodrigo Duterte is set to start his term next month.
The original Laguna Lakeshore was composed of three major projects. It had a massive flood control dike to protect communities along Laguna Lake and parts of Metro Manila, a 47-kilometer tollroad linking Taguig in Metro Manila to Los Baños, Laguna, and a 700-hectare land reclamation component on Laguna Lake.
The reclamation aspect was considered an incentive to the private sector. It was envisioned to be large man-made islands where mixed-use developments would be built.
Following its failure, the DPWH decided to review the project and break it apart.
Ariel Angeles, DPWH head of PPP Service, said the department wanted to pursue the flood-control dike because it would protect affected areas from rising waters. He said official development assistance loans overseas might be tapped to help finance the project.
The flood control dike was deemed crucial since it would protect about 800,000 people in Laguna and parts of Metro Manila. The DPWH estimated that it would also save an average of P8.1 billion in flood-related damage every year.