MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Education (DepEd) yesterday announced the completion of its first public-private partnership (PPP) project involving the construction of over 9,000 classrooms worth P16 billion.
The DepEd’s private partners have completed the PPP for School Infrastructure Project (PSIP) Phase I, resulting in the construction of 9,296 classrooms in regions 1, 3 and 4-A.
The project involved the design, financing and construction of one- and two-story school buildings and the provision of furniture and fixtures, with a total cost of P16.43 billion, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said.
“The project aims to supplement the current program of DepEd in reducing classroom backlog. Over 400,000 students are expected to benefit from this PPP project,” DepEd said.
PSIP Phase I is structured under a Build-Lease-Transfer scheme wherein the government will issue annual lease payments to the private proponents for a period of 10 years.
The project is implemented by the Citicore-Megawide Consortium Inc. and Bright Future Educational Facilities Inc., which won the bidding in 2012.
Meanwhile, DepEd said 1,690 classrooms have been completed under the PSIP Phase 2, which involves the construction of over 4,000 classrooms in the Cordillera Administrative Region and regions 1, 2, 3, 10 and 13.
The second phase of the project is worth P3.86 billion, DPWH said.