Source: ABS-CBN News, 28 March 2012
MANILA, Philippines – (UPDATE1) President Aquino said he wants his public private partnership program speeded up.
Speaking at Euromoney’s Philippine Investment Conference, Aquino said he wants 8 PPP projects rolled out this year.
“We intend to roll out about 8 of these this year. We want an accelerated program for the PPP. I have instructed the economic cluster and NEDA. There has to be more speed in terms of giving a thumbs up or thumbs down to all the various projects under consideration. We cannot afford to think of deades upon decades. We are missing the opportunites that are already extant,” Aquino said.
Aquino said he wants to ride one of the projects, the LRT 1 South Extension in 3 years.
“If I haven’t ridden on it by 2015 i will be severely disappointed,” he said.
In a text message, Economic Planning Secretary Cayetano Paderanga said what Aquino meant was the government “will try to have (the eight) bidded during the year.”
While the government targeted as many as 10 PPPs last year, it bid out just one, the P2 billion Daang Hari road project.
Aquino also said he wants to revive manufacturing in the Philippines.
Manufacturing has taken a beating because of high power costs here and cheaper labor costs in China.
Aquino said two new shipbuilders and a steel manufacturer are coming in.
Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said some garment makers, among the first to leave the country in the 1990s, are coming back.
