Among the amendments the Joint Foreign Chambers is pushing for is the extension of the Swiss challenge
MANILA, Philippines – The Joint Foreign Chambers (JFC) pushed for the swift enactment of amendments to the build-operate-transfer (BOT) law to sustain investor confidence in the government’s infrastructure program.
In a letter to Representative Ronald Cosalan, chairperson of the House Committee on Public Works and Highways, JFC said the amendments to the law would institutionalize the processes that have improved the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) program over the past 4 years.
This will further strengthen the country’s PPP framework and prevent hindrances to the implementation of critical public projects, JFC added.
One of the amendments being pushed is a call to extend the maximum period of the Swiss challenge in an unsolicited bid to 6 months from the present two months.
“While the PPP Program encountered some difficulties in its initial stages, it has since begun to catch up, with high-impact projects being steadily rolled out, catching the attention of domestic and international investors,” JFC said.
President Benigno Aquino III highlighted these initial difficulties in his 2013 State of The Nation Address (SONA), saying, “The studies on which the projects were based were outdated; and the bureaucracy lacked the sufficient knowledge to implement them.”
The program has been recently picking up steam with the government announcing 18 major infrastructure projects worth P602.2 billion ($13.6 billion). These were set to roll out before June of this year.
It was also highlighted during the first ASEAN-PPP Networking Forum held in December of 2014, where it was regarded as one of the most mature PPP programs in the region with established policy and process improvements and a developed pipeline of projects.
8 PPP projects have been awarded by the government so far amounting to P127 billion ($2.8 billion). – Rappler.com
US$1 = P44.23
Rappler, 23 February 2015
