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THE
National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Board
has approved the long-awaited joint-venture (JV)
guidelines drafted to encourage the private sector to
undertake projects with the national government.
The Neda
Board approved the guidelines during a joint Neda
Cabinet Group/National Antipoverty Commission (NAPC)
meeting in Malacañang Tuesday. The members of the Neda
Cabinet Group are part of the Neda Board.
Though
no final version of the document could be provided to
the public at press time, Neda officials confirmed the
approved version of the guidelines did not change much.
The only
noticeable change was that approval of proposals could
now be given by government agencies except when the
proposal will necessitate the provision of a government
subsidy or a government-performance guarantee or
performance undertakings.
In such
cases, the guidelines provide that approval of proposals
will be sought from the Department of Finance for
projects requiring government guarantees; and the
Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for projects
in need of government subsidies.
With the
approval of the guidelines, the Bases Conversion and
Development Authority (BCDA) may refer to the guidelines
and commence its evaluation of the P2-billion proposal
of
Hong Kong real-estate giant Shimao Property Holdings Ltd.
The BCDA
had said on Monday that it may issue a statement either
Wednesday or Thursday on the Shimao case, which was
stalled by the absence of the Neda Board joint-venture
guidelines.
Shimao
Holdings had proposed to put-up two five-star hotels and
a commercial complex in
Bonifacio Global City.
The proposal was submitted to the BCDA, which is
authorized to privatize the former military base.
However,
the proposal was not accepted by the BCDA because of the
lack of the JV guidelines for projects with the
government, which would allow it to simply subject the
Shimao proposal to a Swiss challenge. Thus, the BCDA
three weeks ago said it had no choice but turn down
Shimao’s unsolicited offer and instead call for a full
bidding. Whether or not the BCDA will reconsider that
decision, now that the JV guidelines have been approved
by the Neda Board, will likely be known this week.
Government rules provide that 15 days after the
publication of the guidelines, government agencies may
start accepting proposals for JV and have 10 working
days to evaluate the proposal.
If the
proposal is accepted by the agency, negotiations will
commence. If 30 days pass after the negotiations have
been concluded and no challengers surface, the
government may now enter into a contract with the
proponent.
Earlier,
Neda Director General Augusto Santos said the JV
guidelines will enhance the government’s ability to
undertake private-public partnerships (PPPs).
Santos
said that with the guidelines, the government may
also enter into a 50-50 venture where the private sector
and the government will put in the same amount of
equity.
However,
he said that this equity mix will be decided on by both
parties and will not necessarily be fixed on a 50-50
basis.
The
government previously bared its plans to offer up to 10
infrastructure projects for funding from the private
sector, in an effort to control government spending on
infrastructure projects and encourage the private sector
to participate in national development. |
