Source:  ABS-CBN News

MANILA, Philippines – The economic cluster of the Aquino Cabinet clarified on Wednesday that the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) is not the end-all and be-all of the government’s infrastructure program.

Public Works and Highways Secretary Rogelio Singson said the PPP will just be augmenting government projects already lined up and funded by the national budget and official development assistance (ODA) loans until 2016.

According to Singson, while the 13 PPP projects up for bidding are estimated to cost P250 billion, proposed government projects until 2016 under the General Appropriations Act amount to P750 billion.

The government is still optimistic it could roll out 3 PPP projects in the next few months, including the Daang Hari-SLEx road link, NAIA Expressway Phase 2 and SLEx-NLEx link.

In Metro Manila, DPWH will soon launch the interchange in Araneta and Quezon Avenue, which is still part of C-3, as well as the Don Mariano Marcos Avenue extension, the flyover on the crossing of Commonwealth Avenue and the Mindanao Avenue extension.

“We are not only banking on the PPP for our roads to be improved,” emphasized Singson.

Next year, government infra projects include the C-6 and C-6 extension, which center on the areas around Laguna Lake, and the Cavite-Laguna Expressway.

The Cabinet cluster, meanwhile, said that the shortage of classrooms in the country may be addressed through the PPP.

There is a need for an additional 60,000 classrooms, of which around 20,000 to 30,000 classrooms may be built through the PPP program, in addition to the budgeted classroom projects of the Department of Education and local government units.

Singson has also asked the Department of Tourism to pinpoint priority tourism destinations so that they can build infrastructure and roads leading to these places using the P5 billion to P6 billion allocated budget for next year.

PPP Executive Director Phil Torio, for his part, said the government is still targeting 10 partnerships with the private sector for this year, but he said 7 or 8 would already good.

Published on June 8, 2011