Business Mirror, 08 January 2015
By Cai Ordinario
 
Despite delays, the Philippines’s Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Program is still seen as a key component and model of other countries in the region in realizing the Master Plan for Asean Connectivity (MPAC).

The government aid a number of the country’s PPP projects—including various airports, railways, roads and ports —would help increase connectivity in the Asean.

The PPP Center said these projects will also help further cut transportation costs and boost tourism in the region, which is one of the goals of the MPAC.

“Transportation cost in all segments is expected to be reduced, paving the way for the exchange of more goods and services. At the same time, the new infrastructure would facilitate faster and better travel that could potentially boost local tourism,” the PPP Center said.

The PPP Center added that projects, like the operation, maintenance and redevelopment of the Puerto Princesa, Iloilo, Davao, Bacolod, New Bohol, La-guindingan and Ninoy Aquino International Airport and the upgrading of the San Fernando Airport and the Davao Sasa Port modernization, will help realize the MPAC.

Also included in the list are the North-South Commuter Railway (South line); operation and maintenance (O&M) of the LRT Line 2; North Luzon Expressway East Expressway; Central Luzon Link Expressway-Phase II; improvement and O&M of Kennon Road and Marcos Highway; and Plaridel Bypass Toll Road.

In the recently concluded Asean PPP Networking Forum in Manila, the country’s PPP Program was highlighted to guide other Southeast Asian countries in their effort to create their respective PPP initiatives.

Countries, such as Cambodia, Myanmar, Lao PDR and Vietnam, have also expressed their intent for future engagements with the PPP Center of the Philippines to learn more about the country’s experience.

“It [Philippine PPP Program] was regarded as one of the most mature PPP programs in the region that has established several policy and process improvements, and developed a robust pipeline of projects,” the PPP Center said.

The Philippines has been ranked highest in terms of PPP readiness in the Asean region, given its advanced legal and administrative structure based on the Infrascope 2011 Study of the Economist Intelligence Unit commissioned by the Asian Development Bank.

Since the 1990s, the Philippine government has undertaken PPPs under the build-operate-transfer law passed under former President Corazon Aquino’s term.

The current Aquino administration then renamed the BOT Center as the PPP Center to specifically cater to projects undertaken via BOT, build-lease-transfer, and other private-public sector undertakings.