‘Govt open to infrastructure partnership’

TRANSPORTATION Secretary Jaime Bautista said on Thursday that the government is open to infrastructure partnership with the private sector.

“Due to limited fiscal space, we turn to potential private partners to finance transport projects. We need your support because private investment will allow us to fast-track their completion,” Bautista said during THE first general membership meeting and installation of officers and trustees of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Makati City.

Bautista said joint venture with the private sector would make it easier for the government to deal with issues such as economic congestion costs, high logistic costs, right-of-way, road safety, and displaced residents.

“The task of completing these projects on schedule becomes more pressing when you crosscheck these transport infrastructures in various stages of project implementation against available resources such as limited budget,” he added.

Bautista said the Public-Private Partnership scheme offers huge investment potential.

He added that the 198 infrastructure flagship projects approved by the National Economic and Development Authority were worth P8 trillion, and 73 of which were assigned to the Department of Transportation (DoTR) valued at P4.4 trillion.

The DoTR, Bautista said, now has over 160 projects in the pipeline, including the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Mactan-Cebu International Airport, Clark International Airport, Bohol-Panglao International Airport, the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program, EDSA Busway, EDSA Greenways, Cebu Bus Rapid Transit, Davao Public Transport Modernization Program and the Active Transport Program.