The Public Private Partnership Center said Thursday the next president should pursue a major subway system to decongest Metro Manila traffic.
PPP Center executive director Cosette Canilao said in a news briefing the next administration should also prioritize the development of airports in the country.
“The airports should be prioritized and the subway project should be looked at again. They should focus more on the transport and connectivity,” Canilao told reporters.
Traffic along Edsa and other major roads in Metro Manila slowed down in recent months, as vehicle sales surged while no major infrastructure projects were completed in the capital region.
PPP Center listed the P374-billion Makati-Pasay-Taguig Mass Transit System Loop as a major project last year, but it remains unacted by the board of the National Economic and Development Authority because of the complexity of the project.
The project involves the connection of Bonifacio Global City, Makati central business district and the Mall of Asia area in Pasay City. The proposed new rail line would run for about 12 kilometers underground.
The Transportation Department is also in the process of bidding out five provincial airports worth P108.17 billion under the PPP program.
The five provincial airports included in the PPP bundle are the P20.26-billion Bacolod-Silay International Airport and the P30.4-billion Iloilo International Airport under package 1, and the P14.62-billion Laguindingan Airport, P2.34-billion New Bohol (Panglao) Airport and P40.57-billion Davao International Airport under package 2.
Canilao said the PPP Center was targeting to roll out at least two or three projects before the end of the Aquino administration in June 2016.
She said these projects might include the P9.33-billion Plaridel Bypass Toll Road, P74.56-billion Ninoy Aquino International Airport Development, P1.75-billion Philippine Travel Center Complex, P14.72-billion Batangas-Manila 1 Natural Gas Pipeline, P1.58-billion New Nayong Pilipino at Entertainment City and P3.38-billion Judiciary Infrastructure Development through PPP project.
Canilao said some P556.56 billion worth of infrastructure projects were under procurement. These include the P108-billion five regional airports, P18.99-billion Davao Sasa Port Modernization, P50.18-billion Regional Prison Facilities through PPP, P122.80-billion Laguna Lakeshore Expressway Dike, P298-million Road Transport Information Technology Infrastructure project phase II, P1.59-billion Civil Registry System Information Technology project phase II, P18.72-billion New Centennial Water Source-Kaliwa Dam, P65.09-billion LRT Line 6 and the P170.70-billion North-South Railway south line.
The government has awarded 12 projects worth P217.42 billion since 2010.
These projects were the P2.01-billion Daang Hari-Slex Link Road, P16.28-billion PPP for School Infrastructure project phase 1, P15.52-billion NAIA Expressway (phase II), P5.69-billion Modernization of the Philippine Orthopedic Center, P1.72-billion Automatic Fare Collection System, P17.52-billion Mactan-Cebu International Airport Passenger Terminal Building, P64.9-billion LRT Line 1 Cavite Extension, P2.5-billion Southwest Integrated Transport project, P55.53-billion Cavite Laguna Expressway, P4-billion South Integrated Transport System project and P24.4-billion Bulacan Bulk Water Supply project.
