News Room - Business/Economics

Posted on 13 Sep 2007

Philippines’ private sector eyed to fund seven projects

The National Economic and Development Authority has identified seven major infrastructure projects worth P67 billion for private sector financing.

 

Agency officer-in-charge Augusto Santos told participants of the Philippine Economic Briefing and Infrastructure Forum that the projects were “ready-to-go, have no major issues, and have high socio-economic impacts.”

 

Santos said the projects included the operations and maintenance of the 94-kilometer Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway project worth P32.81 billion, the first phase of the 84.5-kilometer Tarlac-La Union toll expressway worth P16.88 billion, and the extension of the LRT-1 project from Monumento to

North Ave.

in Quezon City worth P6.3 billion.

 

Also up for private sector funding are the P5.2-billion bulk water supply project of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System for the west concession, the P2.8-billion Panguil Bay Bridge, the P1.95-billion Wawa River project, and the privatization of the Ambuklao-Binga hydroelectric power plants.

 

Santos said the projects would increase the country’s global competitiveness as embodied in the Medium Term Philippine Development Plan.

 

The Arroyo government has laid down an infrastructure investment of P2.02 trillion from 2006 to 2010 that will be financed by the government, multilateral lending agencies and the private sector.

 

The government will shoulder about P881.45 billion of the total allocated amount; followed by the private sector with P663.2 billion; government-owned and controlled corporations, P337.32 billion; other sources, P86.75 billion; local government units, P44.44 billion; and government financial institutions with P3.67 billion.

 

Manila Standard Today, September 13, 2007