Government to woo ME investors for PPP

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines is planning to woo investors from Doha and Abu Dhabi to fuel investments in the government’s Public Private Partnership (PPP) program and industries in the Investment Priorities Plan (IPP).

In an interview with reporters, Board of Investments (BOI) managing head Cristino L. Panlilio said that he will be heading to Doha and Abu Dhabi to court investors in the mideast region.

Panlilio said that they are eyeing $1 billion each from Doha and Abu Dhabi. “We would like to solicit an equity fund from Abu Dhabi and the Qatar Investment authority,” he said.

“What we want from them is not hot money. This is not investment in the stock exchange. We would like them to invest in the PPP or the IPP,” Panlilio explained.

Earlier, the government said they are expecting P348.5 billion worth of investments in the power sector under the PPP.

Panlilio said that for 2012 and beyond, they are considering 43 new projects in the power sector with a combined worth of P348.5 billion.

Likewise, Panlilio said that there are already 28 projects that require P263.5 billion in investments that are up for competitive selection. He said that for 2012, 73 projects have been identified for PPP.

Meanwhile, the government is still hopeful that it would be able to bid out this year at least 10 projects under the PPP scheme.

Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima gave this assurance yesterday as he noted that the government is preparing the documents and proposals for the different projects to be bid out.

“We are confident that we will bid out at least 10 projects in 2011,” Purisima said.

He reiterated previous pronouncements that the government would no longer entertain unsolicited proposals as it might mean a repeat of the mistakes of previous administrations.

The Finance chief said that unsolicited proposals are more prone to sweetheart deals such as what happened in the past. Such deals, he said, have turned away investors. “We have to tap the expertise of the private sector,” Purisima said.

The Finance chief believes that what is important is to have the crucial infrastructure in place to be able to attract investments in the country and consequently, create job opportunities.

Purisima said the idea is to have better airports, roads and bridges so that the country would be more attractive to local and foreign investors.

A PPP is a contractual arrangement between government and the private sector to deliver public infrastructure and public services. It is being pushed by the Aquino administration so that it would have more funds for public health and education.

In November last year, the government launched its PPP summit to announce planned projects to potential investors.

Possible projects include linking the Manila-Cavite Coastal Road with the South Luzon Expressway.

The 27.5-kilometer expressway hopes to decongest the traffic in Cavite and provide access among the different economic zones covering the two areas.

For the Light Rail Transit, the Aquino administration hopes to bid out the privatization of LRT Line 1 operation and management.

Another project is the extension project of LRT 1, which involves the construction of an 11.7-kilometer extension, to be implemented from 2011 to 2015.

The government is also planning an extension of LRT Line 2 East under which there will be a four-kilometer railway system to be constructed during the period 2011 to 2014.

The Aquino administration hopes to create more fiscal space with the PPP initiatives. — With Iris Gonzales