Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) continue to be one of the strong components in the implementation of the government’s Build, Build, Build program as big-ticket infrastructure projects such as Zamboanga City’s San Ramon Newport Project gets funding for an international transaction advisor. The PPP Center’s Project Development and Monitoring Facility (PDMF), supported by the Australian government through the Asian Development Bank (ADB) hired the UK-based consulting firm.
The PDMF is a fund managed by the PPP Center that government agencies, wanting to undertake PPP projects, can tap to gain access to renowned international consulting firms, which will provide technical assistance in developing the feasibility studies for their PPP projects. These same firms can also help develop the necessary bidding documents, provide technical support during the bidding process from procurement to the awarding and signing of the contract.
BDO LLP, a professional services firm based in the UK, and a market leader in financial modelling and project structuring of PPP projects bagged the contract to help the Zamboanga City Special Economic Zone and Freeport (ZamboEcozone) Authority prepare the feasibility study, including transaction documents and manage the PPP bidding process until financial close.
This seaport project under the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Law, involves the financing, design, construction, operations and maintenance of a world-class seaport within the ZamboEcozone by a private partner. Once built, the seaport will contribute significantly to the competitiveness of the ZamboEcozone, transforming it into a world-class economic zone that will link resources, market, and other economic activities. This will boost the economic development of Zamboanga City and Mindanao.
PPP Center Executive Director Ferdinand A. Pecson shared his hopes on Mindanao’s PPP seaport project.
“The PPP Center is very optimistic about the San Ramon Newport Project. The ZamboEcozone Authority which will implement this project is committed to get this project off the ground,” Executive Director Pecson said.
“Engaging an internationally acclaimed consulting firm like BDO LLP through our PDMF is a step towards helping Zamboanga realize its full potential as an international port destination. It is our hope that this PPP project will help Mindanao accelerate its growth, bringing those in the fringes of development into the mainstream of economic progress,” he added.
Currently, the government has thirty-six (36) projects in the PPP pipeline worth 426.10 billion pesos. Ten (10) out of the fifteen (15) awarded PPP projects were PDMF funded.
