LGUs urged to build cases for PPP project proposals

MANILA, Philippines — The Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center is urging local government units (LGUs) to build business cases for community projects that can be carried out with the private sector.

Ferdinand Pecson, PPP Center executive director, said this is can be a faster and more cost efficient way of pursuing PPP projects at the local level because it can provide the private sector reliable materials for making more focused proposals.

Instead of LGUs themselves undertaking feasibility studies for their PPP projects which demand substantial resources to accomplish, local governments can instead build business cases that contain the specific needs of the communities that have to be satisfied by the identified projects as well as the expectations from the private sector.

“The LGU, through their business case, can define their needs, the kind of performance that they expect from the private proponent, what they can contribute to the project, and the obligations of the private sector,” Pecson said.

“This will give the private sector a reliable reference in building their feasibility studies and takes out the guesswork on what are the government’s preferred parameters for their project. They shall have a basis for submitting a more focused proposal,” he added.

This alternative selection process, he said, can be adopted by LGUs through their PPP Code.

“They are clothed with legislative powers to enact such code provided it does not violate national law,” Pecson said.

The PPP Center can provide local governments the technical assistance to strengthen their capacity in doing a detailed business case for their PPP projects.

Likewise, the center will extend the provision of assistance in the tendering process particularly in the preparation of bid documents.

The center is expanding its support to priority sectors from the usual transportation projects to those that have immediate impact to communities such as water supply and sanitation, solid waste management, green infrastructure, and social infrastructure projects such as health and tourism.

The agency is also streamlining the PPP process through the issuance of sectoral guidelines and contract templates.

It announced recently that a facility for funding the preparation of regional PPP projects with climate resilience components is now being readied to build a robust pipeline of such infrastructure projects.

The center is now aggressively pursuing its LGU Strategy in line with the shift in its efforts since 2017 to facilitate the use of the PPP mode of procurement in LGUs as the national government veers toward the use if official development assistance (ODA) and own funds for big-ticket infrastructure projects.

This strategy covers projects that can respond to the immediate needs of local communities.