The government aims to roll out all key infrastructure deals under the transportation agency, amounting to roughly half a trillion pesos before President Aquino bows out from office in 2016, a Cabinet official revealed.
Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio A. Abaya said his office is bullish on the prospect of auctioning off roughly P457.11 billion worth of contracts that would effectively plug the leakage in the country’s infrastructure.
The cost does not include most of the larger deals, whose feasibility studies have yet to be completed.
“Yes, I am confident. In fact, during one of my conversations with the President, we agreed that, at the very least, we’ll make it easy for the guys who will replace us by getting necessary approvals for the projects,” the transport chief replied when asked about the rollout of all implemented projects under his office.
There are roughly 60 projects in the public-private partnership (PPP) pipeline to date, bulk of which, or 27 projects, are under the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC). The status of these deals vary, some are in need of approval of the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Board, while others are still being studied for feasibility.
Just recently, the highest planning body of the government approved five gateway development deals, involving the upgrade of the airports in Iloilo, Bacolod, Davao, and Puerto Princesa. The Neda Board also approved the P18.99-billion Davao Sasa Port Modernization deal.
These recently approved projects will undergo bidding in the next couple of months.
Included in the list of projects to be auctioned off on or before 2016 are the P135-billion Mass Transit Loop and the P166.33-billion North-South Commuter Rail. These railway projects will help decongest the roads in Metro Manila while easing the transport of goods and services from the provinces.
“Let us also look at our biggest project, which is the new gateway in Sangley,” Abaya said, referring to the $10-billion airport project envisioned to replace the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila.
“We are really looking way forward to 2025. The airports are difficult to do, so we have to make our decisions now. We have to get the necessary approvals to make it easy for the guys who will replace us,” he added.
The government is also venturing into the redevelopment of the Naia, as well as the expansion of the Clark International Airport.
Currently, the transportation agency is auctioning off the P2.5-billion Integrated Transport System (ITS) Southwest Terminal and the P4.5-billion ITS South, and the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 2 Operation and Maintenance deals.
American Chamber of Commerce Senior Adviser John D. Forbes called the transportation agency’s target “ambitious,” yet feasible.
“It is an ambitious target, but is doable. Success will establish the Philippines as a global leader in PPP deals,” he pointed out. Just recently, the PPP Center called on European, Japanese and North American companies to invest in the Philippines’s key infrastructure thrust.
“I believe that most of the DOTC projects are ready to be bid out after having been carefully reviewed and prepared. The PPP Center has already been including these transport infrastructure projects in their road shows and there seems to be keen interest from foreign investors,” Makati Business Club Executive Director Peter Angelo V. Perfecto noted.
“Hence, it may in fact be doable to have them all bid out before the President steps down in 2016,” he added.
The program went off to a slow start, with the Philippines seeing only a few projects being rolled out when the key infrastructure thrust was launched in 2010. To date, eight projects have been awarded amounting to P128 billion in investments.
“It has been a slow start and I assume that most of the kinks in the PPP process has been largely addressed. It’s about time to fast track and roll out all these DOTC projects,” Management Association of the Philippines President Greg S. Navarro said.
He noted that the transport projects would plug the holes in the country’s infrastructure.
“These will all contribute to overall sustainability of the economic gains so far achieved by the Aquino administration,” Navarro pointed out.
Most of the projects being undertaken by transportation department forms part of the P4.76-trillion infrastructure dream plan that was laid out by the Japan International Cooperation Agency.
These investments, the agency said, will translate to a reduction in transport fares and reduced travel time, resulting in gains and savings.
If the measures laid out by the Japanese consultants were not realized, the country is set to lose some P6 billion a day in productivity losses. Currently, the Philippines is said to be losing some P2.4 billion daily due to the gridlock around the country’s major arteries.
The government also intends to lower the cost of transportation by 2016 through the construction of the much-needed infrastructure to ease the traffic congestion in key arteries to facilitate faster exchange of goods and services.