Monday, August 25, 2014

Two PPP projects up for NEDA Board okay

TWO MORE public-private partnership (PPP) projects are now up for approval by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board after securing the go-ahead from the NEDA-Investment Coordination Committee-Cabinet Committee (ICC-CabCom) last week.

Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio A. Abaya said in a text message that the NEDA-ICC-CabCom, in its Aug. 22 meeting, approved two projects: the Davao Sasa Port and the Motor Vehicle Inspection System (MVIS).

The Department of Transportation and Communications (DoTC) is the implementing agency for both initiatives.

PPP Center Executive Director Cosette V. Canilao likewise confirmed via text message that the two projects were approved by the NEDA-ICC CabCom.

According to the PPP Center Web site, the Davao Sasa Port project involves the construction and modernization of the port’s infrastructure, including the construction of a new apron, linear quay, container yards, warehouses, the expansion of its back-up area, and the installation of ship-to-shore cranes and rubber-tired gantry.

“The development of the Davao Sasa Port into an international-standard container terminal is expected to significantly increase operational performance, reduce vessel waiting times, and attract direct calls of large foreign container vessels, in turn reducing shipping costs for import/export cargos to and from Mindanao,” the Web site said.

The project has an estimated cost of P17.46 billion and will be implemented under the build-transfer-and-operate (BTO) scheme. It will involve a 35-40-year cooperation period.

The MVIS, meanwhile, involves the creation of testing centers for heavy duty, light duty and two-wheeler vehicles across the country.

These centers shall include vehicle lanes with standalone structure and automated inspection equipment, an administrative area, a parking area and test driving lanes, a boundary wall and utilities, an IT system to automate the entire process and enforce sufficient security measures, and an optional area for future expansion. The project will be implemented under the BTO scheme, according to the PPP Center Web site. It is estimated to cost P19.30 billion and will involve a 12-year cooperation period, inclusive of design and conceptualization.

These two new green-lit initiatives brings to seven the total number of NEDA-ICC CabCom-approved projects so far.

The other five PPP initiatives previously okayed by the body are the operation and maintenance (O&M) contracts of the Iloilo, Davao, Bacolod, and Puerto Princesa airports, and the upgrading of Regional Prison Facilities.

The four projects involving the O&M of the airports were approved by the NEDA-ICC CabCom in a June 30 meeting. Meanwhile, the Regional Prison Facilities project was approved in the body’s Aug. 5 meeting.

Having obtained NEDA-ICC CabCom approval, the seven projects are now up for approval by the NEDA Board chaired by President Benigno S. C. Aquino III.

Socioeconomic Planning chief Arsenio M. Balisacan was not available for comment on the date of the next NEDA Board meeting.

With NEDA Board approval, implementing agencies can bid out the initiatives to interested private sector partners.

PPP projects form part of the Aquino administration’s infrastructure program for speeding up the country’s economic development.

To date, the government has rolled out seven PPP projects: the Daang Hari-South Luzon Expressway Road Link Project, the PPP for School Infrastructure Project Phases I and II, the Modernization of the Philippine Orthopedic Center, the Automatic Fare Collection System, the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Passenger Terminal Building and the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Expressway project.

Last month, the PPP Center said a measure amending the Build-Operate-Transfer Law is expected to be passed by Congress in the first semester of 2015. The said amendment, it noted, is expected to help ease bottlenecks in the current PPP program. -- B.C.P. Balaoing
source:  Businessworld

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