TO STREAMLINE the development of the public-private partnership (PPP) program, the government should stop entertaining unsolicited proposals and implement a country-wide infrastructure road map from which investors can bid for specific projects, the British Ambassador to the Philippines said on Friday.
In an event called “Building Bridges: Public-Private Solutions in the UK and in the Philippines” held at the ambassador’s residence in Makati, Ambassador Asif Ahmad told reporters on the sidelines that instead of accepting unsolicited proposals from investors, the government should develop a national infrastructure plan.
“We were right there right at the beginning when PPP Center was set up. From a blank sheet of paper, we were already there guiding them. Along the way, there were stumbles, delays in projects. So I spoke to the DoTC (Department of Transportation and Communications) and Cosette (V. Canilao, executive director of the PPP Center) quite a long time ago telling them that they should look at a broader framework,” he said.
The government, according to Mr. Ahmad, “should pass a blueprint saying this is the national roadway plan, you can come and bid to any section you wish, but you cannot come up with an unsolicited proposal which is not part of the plan...That way you get coherence and avoid challenges that hinder the speediness of the procurement.”
The British government in October 2010 published its National Infrastructure Plan, outlining its vision for the future of UK economic infrastructure. It sets out the challenges facing UK infrastructure and the government’s strategy for meeting the infrastructure needs of its economy.
The plan, according to the UK government’s Web site, contains major commitments for investment in important infrastructure projects and explains how it is attracting new private sector investment.
“We don’t accept unsolicited proposals that’s why projects are constructed fast,” Mr. Ahmad said.
“It’s easy because the rules are already clear, the project is there, the concession agreement is laid out, instead of unsolicited proposals which are very inefficient, because they come up with biddings that are their own idea, and then the government is stuck, does this fit the road or not, is it a priority or not,” he added.
“Then there comes the suspicion of the public, saying why is this company coming up with that proposal now? And so the public will think this company just wants to build a big mall in this area,” Mr. Ahmad said.
He said the Philippine Transportation department “has the habit of pushing unsolicited proposals, building in small sections, and adding on bits and pieces. For example, this expressway starts in Manila then they add a little bit more and then it ends in the middle of nowhere.”
“There were also delays in some projects due to legal hurdles,” Mr. Ahmad said.
From the seven projects expected to be completed before the end of Aquino administration in mid-2016, the PPP Center has trimmed this initial estimate to five due to unforeseen delays in the bidding and awarding of some projects.
The delayed PPP projects include the P5.69-billion contract to modernize the Philippine Orthopedic Center, which hit a road block when activist groups composed of health workers and party-list organizations filed a petition opposing the alleged privatization of the hospital.
The awarding of the P17.5-billion Mactan-Cebu International Airport contract was also pushed back when the losing bidder, the Filinvest-Changi consortium, filed a complaint alleging conflict of interest against the winning bidder GMR-Megawide consortium.
Likewise, the awarding of the P64.9-billion Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1) Cavite Extension project was postponed for nearly a month due to a pending temporary restraining order on a component of the deal.
The Public Works and Highways department has also halted the awarding of its P35.2-billion Cavite-Laguna Expressway deal after the Office of the President last November decided to rebid the project. Until now the rebidding of the project has not yet been rolled out.
Mr. Ahmad said a road map would be like “taking a photograph of the country from a satellite, then have a mission… by 2030, I want the expressways and other infrastructure to look like this. If some companies want to bid for a project included in the plan and it completes the jigsaw, the government’s answer should be yes.”
The PPP Center targets the award of 15 PPP projects before President Benigno S.C. Aquino III steps down in mid-2016.
Eight deals have been awarded since the flagship infrastructure program was launched in late-2010: the P17.52-billion Mactan-Cebu International Airport Project; the P64.9-billion Light Rail Transit Line 1 Cavite Extension; the P1.72-billion Automatic Fare Collection System; the P2.01-billion Daang Hari-South Luzon Expressway Link Road; the P15.52-billion Ninoy Aquino International Airport Expressway; the P16.28-billion first phase of the PPP for School Infrastructure Project (PSIP); the PSIP’s P3.86-billion second phase; and the P5.69-billion Philippine Orthopedic Center modernization. -- Chrisee Jalyssa V.
source: Businessworld
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