BusinessWorld, 03 October 2014

THE GOVERNMENT has touted its public-private partnership (PPP) program before investors in Singapore in a bid to spark interest in projects under its flagship infrastructure initiative.

“The Philippines promoted its public-private partnership projects at the recently concluded Philippine Infrastructure and PPP: An Opportunities Seminar-Roadshow in Singapore. The event was co-organized by the UK Trade and Investment (Manila and Singapore) and the Philippine British Business Council (PBBC) last Sept. 29,” the PPP Center said in a statement on Friday. 

A total of 50 PPP projects with an estimated cost of $20.822 billion were presented to foreign investors.

“The business seminar concentrated on high value opportunities under the PPP program and other infrastructure projects that include roads, railways, airports, water and healthcare,” the PPP Center said. 

At present, four projects under the PPP program are in the bidding stage: the Bulacan Bulk Water Supply Project; the Integrated Transport System Project — South and Southwest Terminals; the Laguna Lakeshore Expressway Dike Project; and the Operation and Maintenance for the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 2.

A total of eight projects have been awarded to date, the latest being the contract for LRT Line 1’s operation and maintenance to the Light Rail Manila consortium of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) and Ayala Corp. 

MPIC is one of the three main Philippine units of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) and Philex Mining Corp. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in BusinessWorld. — MFEF