PPP Center gets $3 M ADB grant for climate-resilient projects

MANILA, Philippines — The Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center will receive a $3 million technical assistance (TA) grant from the Asian Development bank (ADB) to build its capacity in developing climate-resilient projects.

The grant, funded by the Urban Climate Change Resilience Trust Fund (UCCRTF), will specifically support the center’s capacity building program and the development and procurement of local climate-resilient PPP projects through its Project Development and Monitoring Facility (PDMF).

This will enhance the delivery of PPP projects at the local level as the center will be better equipped to strengthen the capacities of local government units (LGUs) and other local implementing agencies (IAs) such as water districts, state universities and colleges (SUCs), among others, to include climate change mitigation and adaptation components in their portfolio of PPP projects.

Using its PDMF, a revolving fund, the PPP Center can provide financial and technical assistance to these entities in developing and implementing their PPP projects, from the feasibility study stage to approval, procurement and implementation stages.

It can help finance the feasibility studies and provide access to a panel of experts in climate-resilient infrastructure.

Since 2017, the PPP Center has shifted its focus on assisting LGUs in pursuing PPP projects as the national government veers toward the use of official development assistance (ODA) and internal funds in projects of national significance.

“The PPP Center welcomes the additional support from the ADB and the UCCRTF as these additional resources will help our LGUs and other local IAs such as water districts, SUCs, among others, efficiently develop and implement vital PPP projects that will have a significant and positive impact in their communities. We also appreciate our partnership with the ADB, which has continuously supported the PPP Center in its initiatives to strengthen the Philippine PPP Program,” said PPP Center deputy executive director Mia Sebastian.

Since 2011, the ADB has been supporting the country in strengthening PPPs through capacity building, policy reform and expanding private participation in infrastructure through well-prepared and bankable PPP projects.

Sebastian said that with this additional funding from the ADB and the UCCRTF, the agency encourages LGUs and other local implementing agencies with climate change resilient projects to avail of the project preparation facility under the PDMF

In April, the PPP Center announced that it is putting up a facility for funding the preparation of regional PPP projects with climate resilience components.

Once established, LGUs can tap the regional PDMF to finance pre-investment activities for proposed projects.

Specific projects that can be supported by this grant are those in the sectors of renewable energy, water, sanitation, solid waste management, open/green spaces, food security, flood control, disaster risk management and green vertical development.