Friday, November 19, 2010

Gov’t to hold foreign road shows to seek funds for PPP

By Michelle Remo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 21:44:00 11/19/2010


MANILA, Philippines—The Aquino administration’s economic team will soon hold road shows in several countries to win foreign investors’ support for key infrastructure projects under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) program.
Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, who spearheads the government’s PPP campaign, said in a conference Friday that the government would bid out the first set of public infrastructure projects in the first quarter of 2011.
Purisima said road shows would be held in Japan, China and countries in the Middle East and Europe.
“Following the launch of the PPP, the next step is ... road shows in targeted countries. We invite investors to participate in projects involving toll roads, bridges, water, power and social infrastructure such as schools and hospitals,” Purisima said.
The first set of infrastructure projects to be auctioned off are: MRT/LRT expansion project, MRT Line 2 East extension, Panglao Airport, Laguindingan Airport operation and maintenance, Puerto Princesa Airport, Daraga International Airport, Kalibo Airport, NAIA Terminal 3 upgrade full operationalization, CALA Expressway (Manila side), NAIA Expressway Phase II, Central Luzon Expressway Phase I, and supply of treated bulk water for Metro Manila.
The projects’ combined costs have been estimated at over P150 billion.
To encourage investors, the government will address inconsistency of regulatory policies, tedious processes in putting up businesses, and corruption, Purisima said.
The finance chief claims that the Aquino administration has set in place policies to rectify “sins of the past.”
However, Purisima said the government would no longer enter into deals that would give guaranteed returns to investors, saying lessons from the past also proved that such types of agreements put the government at a disadvantage.
He also said the government would no longer entertain unsolicited proposals. Instead, it would focus on inviting investors to projects already in the administration’s pipeline.
Unsolicited proposals are usually tied to corruption, Purisima said.
Meanwhile, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said his office had already earmarked P12.5 billion from the proposed 2011 national budget to fund initial project requirements such as acquiring rights of way and access roads.
The budget chief said his office would soon identify the amount the government would need as counterpart funding for the infrastructure projects.
Multilateral lenders—including the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank and the International Finance Corp.—have expressed keen interest in funding the projects.

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