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MADRID,
Spain—The
Philippine government is confident pursuing more
public-private partnerships (PPPs) in the light of the
new vision of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) will
provide financial relief to and stop the “bleeding” of
government agencies.
National
Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Assistant
Director-General for Infrastructure Ruben Reinoso told
the BusinessMirror that the exact amount of how much
might be saved in the government’s coffers would depend
on the equity mix and the amount of the loan to be
secured for certain projects.
Reinoso
explained that by pursuing PPPs, the government would
not be forced to pay the whole amount of loans. Though
these loans will not be concessional and will be offered
at commercial rates, the entire burden of repayment does
not fall on the government’s shoulders alone.
“The
PPPs will be cheaper for government in the sense that it
will stop some bleeding in agencies. Under a 50-50
equity mix, a $100-billion worth [of] loan will only
mean a $500-million worth [of] loan for the government,”
Reinoso said in an interview.
Through
the expertise and efficiency of the private sector,
projects under PPPs will offer a value-added service
that, in the long run, increases savings, he added.
In case
of environmental projects, some private sector entities
will be able to get hold of efficient technology that
will offer not only efficiency but also environmental
sustainability—allowing the country to save by ensuring
that citizens are healthy, he said.
Meanwhile, the ADB said that as
Asia looks toward
a brighter future, strong partnerships would be
essential, especially with the private sector, which is
the key to attracting investment and innovation and is
the source of jobs and economic opportunities.
By 2020
the ADB sees private-sector development and private
sector operations comprising half of its annual
operations.
In his
address to the ADB’s board of governors, Finance
Secretary Margarito Teves said the bank’s new focus
would allow it to become a more responsive and effective
partner in meeting the needs of developing
member-countries.
“We find
merit in being selective and deploying institutional and
financial resources among the five core areas. However,
recent gains in poverty reduction are threatened by
soaring food, oil and other commodity prices,” Teves
said.
“We urge
the ADB to continue its strong engagement in the
agriculture sector to promote effective policies and
support strategic infrastructure development to enhance
rural productivity,” he added.
Earlier,
the Neda said increasing PPPs would be the key to
helping the Philippines overcome the economic threats
for 2008.
Acting
Neda director General Augusto Santos said the US
economic recession and soaring oil prices are the major
downside risks to the country’s economic growth this
year.
Santos
added that the government is also undertaking more
aggressive tourism promotion activities and pursuing
more liberalized air travel policies that should prop up
the services sector.
He said
that investments in mining is also on-track and is
expected to pick up pace in 2008 until 2010. |
