MANILA, Philippines — More Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects at the local government level are expected to take off next year as the local PPP strategy continues to gain momentum.

In a statement yesterday, the PPP Center said more local implementing bodies are now undertaking PPP projects as a result of capacity building and technical assistance provided under the strategy.

These include local government units, water districts, state universities and colleges, special economic zones, and tourism enterprise zones to help generate more bankable PPPs at the local level.

At the close of the year, the PPP Center is monitoring 143 awarded projects of which 31 are being undertaken by national government agencies, 73 are from government owned and controlled corporations and 39 are PPP projects of local government units.

Of the 143 awarded projects, 76 are solicited projects and 67 are unsolicited projects. The government has a pipeline of P2.1 trillion worth of projects.

In the current pipeline, there are 32 unsolicited projects and 24 solicited projects in various stages of development, evaluation, and procurement.

The center has been expanding its reach to the regions through the PPP knowledge corners lodged within the regional offices of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) regional offices where information on PPP is extended to interested parties.

The Asian Development Bank, the Department of the Interior and Local Government, League of Cities of the Philippines and the Singapore’s Infrastructure Asia have been providing technical and knowledge support.

“The local PPP strategy has helped transform the center’s initiatives into projects that proved attractive to private investors and partners – projects that will improve lives, and enhance basic services that are badly needed by the communities,” said the PPP Center.

The Center launched its local PPP strategy in 2017 to facilitate the use of the PPP mode of procurement in LGUs as the national government veers toward the use of official development assistance (ODA) and own funds for big-ticket infrastructure projects.

This strategy covers projects that can respond to the immediate needs of local communities.

Other than local PPP projects, several major projects of national significance have gained significant headway this year.

The Mactan-Cebu International Airport New Passenger Terminal 1 rehabilitation had been completed as of August 2019 and is fully operational.

Meanwhile, the Bulacan bulk water supply project is already operational, serving three cities and 10 municipalities in the province of Bulacan.

The handover of the operations and maintenance activities for the existing passenger terminal building of the Clark International Airport was held on Aug. 16.

The New Clark International Airport terminal PPP was 83.22 percent complete as of September.

For the civil registry system IT project Phase II, the central outlet operations officially transferred from Sta. Mesa, Manila to East Avenue in April.

The Cavite-Laguna Expressway partially opened the entry and exit points at Mamplasan Interchange in October. While the segment from Buendia, Makati to Paco, Manila of the Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3 partially opened in July 2019.

Meanwhile, the concession agreement of the New Manila International Airport Project was executed by the Department of Transportation and San Miguel Aerocity Inc. last September.

BY Czeriza Valencia