20 PPP projects expected to be approved

ATOTAL of 20 public-private partnership (PPP) projects are expected to be approved by the Investment Coordination Committee (ICC) THIS YEAR, A TOP OFFICIAL SAID.

“I think within the year, a substantial number of those would be submitted to NEDA (National Economic Development Authority) Board; we’re thinking around 20 to the ICC,” PPP Center Executive Director Ma. Cynthia Hernandez told reporters during the signing of the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Code on Wednesday.

This number is higher than the previous 15 projects that are expected to be approved this year.

Among the 15 projects are the Metro Manila Subway O&M (operations and maintenance), North-South Commuter Rail O&M, San Ramon Newport, Cagayan Valley Medical Center Hemodialysis Center, and NCR EDSA Busway Project.

Meanwhile, the solicited projects include O&M of the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit, O&M of the Davao City Bypass Project, O&M of the MRT-3, and O&M of the LRT-2.

“I think the sort of wild card here is the unsolicited proposals.

Even prior to the passing of the IRR, the PPP center has already received and processed over 20 unsolicited proposals because the reform is that the unsolicited proposals first go through the PPP center for a completeness check,” said Hernandez.

“So in the three months since the law was passed, we’ve actually processed more than 20 unsolicited proposals already,” she added.

PPP Center Deputy Executive Director Jeffrey Manalo said that the higher number of expected project approval this year was due to the reduced timeline.

“Project approvals in the PPP projects, which used to take a year for some projects, have now been capped at 120 days max. Otherwise, the project will be deemed approved,” said Manalo.

“What the law and the IRR did actually was to lay down the processes from development all the way to the actual process. So the contract signing and eventually the implementation, and filled up those gaps,” he added.

Under the new PPP code, a unified single framework was formed to make processes more efficient.

“We have unified it into a single framework, so any government entity who wants to enter into a PPP will have to use the law and the processes in the IRR,” said Manalo.

“So the intent really is to clarify the framework, streamline the process, and help implementing agencies process PPP projects much, much faster,” he added.