Source: Journal Online, 31 March 2012
THE National Economic Development Authority yesterday said local governments can boost economic development in their respective localities through the implementation of public-private partnerships projects.
To give LGUs better understanding, NEDA and the PPP Center recently conducted a forum to inform and encourage local governments to implement their own development projects in their localities using the PPP scheme.
The forum also launched the enhanced three-volume PPP manual that has been reviewed and updated to make it more relevant and more accessible to local government executives who intend to use PPP as an alternative mode of undertaking their infrastructure projects.
British Deputy Ambassador Trevor Lewis congratulated NEDA and the PPP Center for providing templates and guidelines for local governments in the said manual.
Lewis reiterated the United Kingdom government’s support for the administration’s public-private partnerships initiative and vowed to continue sharing the UK’s experience and expertise to help the Philippines gain insights on how to further strengthen its program for economic growth.
“As a pioneer in public-private partnerships, UK involvement in PPP contracts has become one of our important exports to the world. The United Kingdom’s experience with PPPs has been extensive and will continue well into the future. Our government estimates that in the next five years, the majority of the £200 billion worth of infrastructure investments will be financed by the private sector,” Lewis explained.
Meanwhile, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Cayetano Paderanga encouraged LGUs to take advantage of the positive conditions of the Philippines’ financial standing in the global financial community to develop and implement PPP projects.
“We are currently enjoying improved ratings from international financial institutions. Our peso is much stronger, we have lower interest rates, and we have enhanced our long-term peso-bond market. This makes us very attractive to financial institutions that are willing to lend longer for housing and infrastructure financing. With this keen interest from the private sector, financial institutions and the banking sector, local governments are now afforded with the opportunity to jumpstart its own infrastructure projects. This in turn will boost the competitiveness of our productive sectors and generate massive employment for our fellow citizens,” Paderanga said.
