The Project Development and Monitoring Facility (PDMF) Board approved on Thursday, October 27, 2011, the applications for funding of pre-investment studies for three airport-related projects and another one involving an automatic transport fare collection system under the public-private partnership (PPP) mode.

Implementing Agencies representatives present in the PDMF Board meeting were DOTC Undersecretary Rene Limcaoco, DBM Director Estrellita Layug, and DOF Undersecretary John Phillip Sevilla.

Cosette V. Canilao, Executive Director of the Public Private Partnership Center of the Philippines, announced that the four projects were presented by the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC).  These cover the construction, and operation and maintenance of the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) New Passenger Terminal Building; the operation and maintenance of a new Bohol Airport; the operation and maintenance of the Laguindingan Airport in Misamis, Oriental; and the establishment of an Automatic Fare Collection System (AFCS) for LRT 1, LRT 2, and MRT3.

The PDMF is a funding pool managed by the PPP Center to enable proponent agencies to come up with viable and well-prepared PPP project proposals. The PDMF has been established with PhP 300 million financing from the government and co-financed by Australia which provided USD 6 million (six million US dollars) under an ADB technical assistance package.

Two weeks ago, two projects were also approved for PDMF support by the PDMF Board. These are the Department of Health’s Philippine Orthopedic Center Modernization Project and the Department of Education’s PPP for School Infrastructure Project which aims to build 10,000 additional classrooms for the country.

Rolando G. Tungpalan, Chairman of the PDMF Board and Deputy Director General of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA),  said all concerned agencies are working hard to properly utilize the PDMF  “to ensure that the projects will meet international standards that will allow for very good investments” in the country.

Other agencies that are duly represented in the PDMF Board are the Department of Finance, the Department of Budget and Management and the PPP Center.

A competitively selected firm from among a roster of nine national and international consulting firms will assist in the conduct of the pre-investment studies.