Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said Tuesday the Duterte administration’s ‘hybrid’ public-private partnership program will help speed up the rollout of big-ticket infrastructure projects under the ‘Build, Build, Build’ program.
Dominguez said in a statement the modified strategy would avoid the protracted negotiations and disputes that often delayed the implementation of previous PPP initiatives.
He cited the Cavite-Laguna Expressway project, which took 50 months to conceptualize and begin implementation, as one prime example of why the government decided to modify the traditional PPP formula and fast-track the process.
Dominguez said instead of resorting to the traditional PPP mode and encounter the same problems in the private sector, the Duterte administration decided to take the initiative and put in place a hybrid PPP in which the government would build and finance the infra projects and later, auction off the operation and maintenance aspects to the private sector.
“We had one PPP project that from conception to the start of implementation, it took 50 months. And one of the reasons is the private sector had a squabble among themselves. Remember the Calax project?” Dominguez said at a recent investment forum.
“We are not willing to wait for the private sector to settle their differences. While private companies quarrel among themselves as to who will make the profit, the public suffers from lack of infrastructure. The Duterte administration is willing to take the construction risks and spend budgeted funds to start projects early,” he said.
Under the ‘Build, Build, Build’ program, the government plans to either implement or begin the project preparations for 75 big-ticket projects to realize the Duterte administration’s envisioned ‘golden
age of infrastructure.’
Dominguez said the proposed New Clark City in Pampanga was a concrete proof that the hybrid PPP mode was faster and more efficient, considering that it would take the government only 18 months to break ground on the project.
“We took over in July of 2016. In December [this year], we will break ground already for the Clark project,” Dominguez said.
The finance chief said that if the project had gone through the traditional PPP scheme, “the ]private sector] lawyers would still have been figuring the liabilities” and other details of the project at
this time.
Another example, Dominguez said, was the Plaridel Bypass Road that would link the North Luzon Expressway to the Philippine-Japan Friendship Highway in Bulacan, which was supposed to be implemented via the traditional PPP mode.
“Had we done that with PPP, we’re still negotiating with them [the private sector] now. But [Public Works Secretary Mark Villar] has started it, and we’ll finish it by next year,” Dominguez said.
Dominguez said the hybrid PPP mode was not totally shutting out private contractors from taking part in the implementation of infra projects as unsolicited proposals were still welcome from the private sector, which, in some instances, would have a better grasp at identifying potential problems and offering better solutions to prospective ventures.