Philippines’s NEDA to consider two road PPP projects in November

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) will consider approval of seven Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects, two of them highways, by the end of this month. The highways are the US$516 million Manila connector road and the $209 million Plaridel toll road. A report by the Manila-based Business World Online newspaper said the deals are worth around US$3.65 billion.
Finance & Funding / November 12, 2015
The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) will consider approval of seven Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects, two of them highways, by the end of this month.

The highways are the US$516 million Manila connector road and the $209 million Plaridel toll road.

A report by the Manila-based Business World Online newspaper said the deals are worth around US$3.65 billion.

The government’s Public-Private Partnership Center, which works on procurement of the projects, has said it wants to award all the contracts by June when the term ends for Philippines president Benigno Aquino, who will have to sign off the works.

The head of the PPP Center, Cosette Canilao, told media that the government is looking to award 14 more PPP contracts by June. “We’re hoping to award almost all the projects” that are in the bidding stage, she said. "For the rest, we’ll take them as far as we can, hopefully into the pre-qualification stage” before Aquino leaves office.

As early as 2013, Aquino ruled out the possibility of running for a second term, even if the constitutional limit on a single six-year tenure were to be lifted, according to media reports at the time.

The Manila connector project involves the construction, operation and maintenance of a 8km. four-lane elevated expressway over the Philippine National Railway right-of-way.

The proposed 25km Plaridel Bypass Toll Road involves conversion of the existing road into expressway standards. Currently, the road is being constructed as a two-lane paved road under the Philippine-Japan Highway Loan Project.

Conversion of the bypass will expand it to four lanes with 3.5-wide lanes and 2.5m-wide shoulders. It also involves the construction of additional interchanges, overpass/underpass, other miscellaneous works such as the operation and maintenance and provision of service roads. The private partner will finance, design, construct, maintain and operate the Plaridel Bypass Toll Road.
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