PPP Center studying EDSA busway privatization proposal

THE Department of Transportation (DoTr) said the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center is now evaluating the proposal it received for the privatization of the EDSA busway system.

“There is a proposal. It is being evaluated by the Public-Private Partnership Center. Then after that we will work with the proponent,” Transportation Secretary Jaime J. Bautista said on the sidelines of a recent event.

The evaluation of the proposal is expected to be concluded in the next few weeks, Mr. Bautista said.

“There is a process right now under the new PPP law. There is a period that the PPP Center will review it and then if the documents are complete, it will be turned over to the DoTr,” he said.

In 2023, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. signed a measure aimed at streamlining the framework for PPPs.

The PPP Code, or Republic Act No. 11966, amended the Build-Operate-Transfer Law to create a unified legal framework for all PPPs at both national and local levels.

In March, the DoTr said it is confident that the EDSA busway privatization will take place in 2025.

The DoTr hopes the busway privatization follows a similar path to the privatization of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), soliciting bids from potential PPP proponents.

The NAIA PPP project is considered the fastest project to progress from submission to investment coordination committee approval to concession agreement signing.

In February, the PPP Center and the DoTr said they completed the initial market sounding activity for the EDSA Busway project.

In October, the DoTr said it expects to start the bidding for the EDSA PPP project in 2025. The EDSA Busway Project involves the financing, design, construction, procurement of low-carbon buses, route planning, and operations and maintenance of the busway. —