By Mabelle M. Manalo
MANILA, March 16 (PNA) — The government allotted nearly Php 800-B on the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects in the National Capital Region (NCR) alone.
This is according to the report on the status of PPP projects for Metro Manila as of March 12 this year, presented during the House Committee on Metro Manila Development meeting Monday.
Committee Chairperson and Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo led the inquiry on the development of the PPP projects amounting to Php 793.62 billion, which are mostly composed of the different transport infrastructure projects aiming to ease the traffic in Metro Manila.
According to Castelo, it is important to know the status of the said projects to determine and address the concerns of their constituents if there are any.
At the committee hearing, representatives from several government agencies reported that six out of 29 PPP projects for the region already completed the procurement of transaction adviser, preparation of business case/feasibility studies, finalization of project structure by implementing agencies, Investment Coordination Committee (ICC) approval, National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) board approval, bidding stage, and contract awarding.
These projects include the Daang Hari-SLEX Link Road Project, Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Expressway (Phase 2), Modernization of the Philippine Orthopedic Center, Automatic Fare Collection System (AFCS), Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 1 Cavite Extension and O&M, and the Integrated Transport System – Southwest Terminal Project.
Meanwhile, the bidding stage for the Integrated Transport System – South Terminal Project, Laguna Lakeshore Expressway Dike Project, Operation and Maintenance of LRT Line -2, New Centennial Water Source – Kaliwa Dam Project, North-South Railway Project (South Line), and North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) – South Luzon Expressway (SLEX)Connector Road projects remain pending while the 17 other PPP projects are still ongoing.
The report presented to the committee also stated that there was a total of 61 PPP projects being developed as of January 2015.
Twenty-six of the said projects are handled by the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) while 12 are under the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
On the other hand, the Department of Health, Department of Education, Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) and other government agencies will implement the rest of the projects.
Among the proponents of the implementing government agencies are the Ayala Corporation, Optimal Infrastructure Development Corporation (SMC), Megawide World Citi Consortium, AF Consortium, Lightrail Manila Consortium (Ayala-MPIC), Megawide Corp. and WM Property Management Inc., Citra Metro Manila Tollways Corporation (CMMTC), and the Universal LRT Corporation (BVI) Limited. (PNA)