Private sector urged to help fund ODA projects

The Japan External Trade Organization (Jetro) is encouraging the country’s private sector to help the government bankroll the infrastructure projects that are funded by Japan’s official development assistance (ODA).

This developed after Jetro and Philippine government officials had held talks on how to maximize the use of Japan’s ODA for such projects, especially those requiring local counterpart funds.

"Given the budgetary constraints on the part of the Philippine government, officials of both countries acknowledge the need to push for more private sector participation in the development of economic infrastructure projects and the utilization of private finance to effect project construction," Jetro said in a statement.

Cited as major financial obstacles are the huge costs of land acquisition and right-of-way, which prevent the speedy implementation of ODA projects and limit the country’s absorptive capacity for such foreign assistance.

Nonetheless, the Philippine government has been addressing those problems by creating a right-of-way fund and the Project Development Facility (PDF) for the implementing agencies and local government units with ODA and BOT (build, operate, transfer) projects.

The Coordinating Council for Private Sector Participation (CCPSP) under the Office of the President is directly and closely overseeing these critical financial concerns.

These were among the issues discussed at a recent seminar conducted by Jetro, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and the Infrastructure Development Institute of Japan.

A vital component in attracting foreign investors to the country, the construction of major infrastructure is an important agenda in the Philippine-Japan Bilateral Economic Development Program.

"And in streamlining its approach to BOT and ODA projects, it is important for the Philippine government to make plans, feasibility studies, and financial analysis based on sound economics and attuned to socioeconoimc realities of the times," the Jetro statement said.

"Jetro’s feasibility study fund will be utilized in this area so that both countries can start their cooperation at the early stages of the project," Jetro added, citing as example a power project involving the Department of Energy and a Japan task force.