P34.3 billion PPP projects by LGUs in the pipeline

MANILA, Philippines — The pipeline for Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects for local government units (LGUs) has expanded to seven, with an aggregate value of at least P34.34 billion, as more provincial governments and private proponents join in the fray, the PPP Center said.

The following projects are now on the table: the Baggao Water Supply Project worth P84.22 million, the Cagayan de Oro Septage Management Project worth P128 million, the Quezon City Waste-to-Energy-Project worth P 16.56 billion, Pampanga Bulk Water Supply Project costing P 16.7 billion, the Los Baños Public Market Project amounting to P110 million, and the Cebu City Solid Waste Management Project and the General Santos Public Market Project, the costs for which have yet to be determined.

The PPP Center said LGUs are “keenly looking into” PPP projects to provide vital infrastructure and services for residents and to boost their competitiveness.

“This is a new pipeline that we are building. PPPs at the local level remain a considerable part of the PPP program where we hope to gain more traction and have PPPs address the vast infrastructure needs of the regions,” said PPP Center executive director Ferdinand Pecson.

In the second half of 2017, the PPP Center announced it would be more aggressive in facilitating the use of the PPP mode of procurement for LGUs as the national government leans toward the use of official development assistance (ODA) and own funds for big-ticket infrastructure projects.

Since the rollout of the center’s LGU strategy last year, local governments have put forward several proposals for PPP projects, many of which still fall under the traditional types like the modernization of public markets and other municipal infrastructure.

The center has so far been providing technical assistance for the procurement of these projects.

Of the seven projects, only the Baggao water project is under procurement. The lone bidder for the project, Tubig Pilipinas Consortium, has been prequalified by the municipality of Baggao with the bid submission slated for May 2018.

The solicited water project involves the provision of a Level III potable piped water supply service to households in the municipality. It would be inclusive of the development of a water supply source, as well as a transmission and distribution mechanism that would serve 24 barangays initially. This comprises 21,160 persons out of the total municipal population of 78,200. 

The winning bidder would finance, design, and construct the water supply facilities, including bulk water source, storage facilities, and transmission and distribution lines. The private firm would also operate and maintain the facilities over a 25-year concession period.

It would be structured as a design-build-operate-and-transfer project and would undergo a competitive two-stage public bidding process under the BOT Law.

The Cagayan de Oro Septage Management Project implemented by the Cagayan de Oro Water District has recently been approved for procurement. The PPP center said the tender documents for the projects are being prepared.

The solicited project, which would be implemented under a joint contractual scheme  involves the finance, design, construction and operation of a septage management facility for Cagayan de Oro City which would be operated under a 25-year concession period.

Currently undergoing negotiations are the the Quezon City Waste-to-Energy Project, an unsolicited joint venture lodged with the local government of Quezon City, and the Pampanga Bulk Water Supply project of the province of Pampanga which would also be under a 25- year concession.

The remaining three projects in the pipeline – Cebu City Solid Waste Management Project, the Los Baños Public Market Project and the General Santos Public Market Project – are under development, which means the completed studies are being reviewed by implementing agencies.

Knowledge corners are now being established in the regional offices of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) to serve as information hubs for PPP. From this investor relations centers, LGUs and implementing agencies can obtain updated information on pursuing projects through the PPP mode of project procurement and delivery.

The first of such information centers opened in Davao City in March.

The PPP Knowledge corners at the NEDA Regional Offices (NROs) will be managed by an NRO focal person for PPPs. Project Development, Investment Programming and Budget Division will respond to queries on PPPs and will coordinate with the PPP Center counterpart for technical support and other relevant information.