by pna
The Aquino government announced Tuesday it was targeting to award eight projects for this year and 10 additional projects next year under the public private partnership program.
In a business forum in New Zealand Tuesday, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, who accompanied President Benigno S. Aquino III in his state visit there, said the government has bidded out projects like the Light Rail Transit extension and the construction of classrooms for the Dept. of Education.
So far, the government was able to award 10,000 classrooms and there will be another two 10,000-classroom projects to be bidded out.
The government also bidded out a toll way and will award another one.
The Ninoy Aquino International Airport Expressway is also up for grabs, Purisima said.
“What’s happening in the Philippines is we’ve established a pipeline of PPP projects, and we hope to launch at least eight this year and 10 next year,†Purisima stressed.
“What’s important is that this covers not just economic infrastructures such as mass transit, toll ways, power, sewerage and water; it also covers social infrastructures such as schools, office buildings and maybe prisons as we move down the road,†he added.
The goal of the President is to reduce the infrastructure gap between the Philippines and its neighboring countries, Purisima said noting that the administration is doing this through PPP arrangements on available budget.
With prudent financial management, Purisima said, the government was able to increase the allocation for infrastructure in the budget by almost 50 percent since the President took office in 2010. He said that the administration hopes to sustain this momentum until President Aquino steps down in 2016.
Linkback:
https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=56047.0