9,300 classrooms to be built under PPP starting next month

MANILA, Philippines - The 9,300 classrooms to be built under a public-private partnership (PPP) scheme between the Department of Education (DepEd) and two joint venture consortia is expected to start construction by next month.

Education Secretary Armin Luistro said that DepEd was still in the process of bidding out the contract for the independent consultant who will approve the design and monitor and audit the classrooms to be constructed by the two winning bidders for the P16.5-billion worth of classrooms to be built under their PPP School Infrastructure Program (PSIP) within this month.

DepEd expects to award the consultancy contract before the Christmas break.

Luistro earlier estimated actual construction activities to start by November.

DepEd became the first government agency to bring an ambitious PPP proposal to a concrete infrastructure project funded by private groups when it signed a build-lease-transfer (BLT) agreement with two consortia that will build the 9,300 classrooms for public schools.

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPHW) was supposed to be the first government agency to accomplish this with their award of the P1.96-billion Daang Hari-South Luzon Expressway (SLEx) Link road contract to the Ayala group last April, but the project has been met with delays allegedly due to redesign and cost issues.