Maynilad eyes infra projects under PPP

MANILA, Philippines - Maynilad Water Services Inc. (Maynilad), the water utility firm jointly owned by the Consunji group and Manuel Pangilinan’s Metro Pacific Investments Corp. is eyeing to invest in the government’s infrastructure projects.

In an interview with The STAR, Maynilad chief executive officer Victorico Vargas said the company is interested to participate in the government’s public-private partnership (PPP) program for infrastructure.

“We want to get into other projects outside our concession area,” Vargas said.

He said that if the government would be bidding out PPP projects related to the water service industry, Maynilad would definitely participate.

Vargas particularly noted that the company is interested in the development of water districts in Cebu, Cagayan de Oro and Bohol.

“Some of these projects may be huge projects and it can be in the form of PPP,” he said.

The PPP, considered as the Aquino administration’s centerpiece economic program, aims to tap private sector participation in 80 large-scale infrastructure projects worth P740 billion that will be undertaken from 2011 and beyond.

Under the PPP scheme, the government would be tapping the help of the private sector to fund the different projects.

The government plans to jumpstart at least ten PPP projects this year.

The first five projects are the operating and maintenance contract of the Metro Rail Transit-3 and Light Rail Transit-1; P1.6-billion Daang Hari-South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) Link Road Project; the P10.59-billion Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Expressway Phase II Project; and the ambitious P21-billion North Luzon Expressway-SLEX Connector Project.

Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, one of the chief architects of the PPP program, said that the government is still on track to launch 10 PPP projects this year on the back of criticisms that the program has not taken off.

He said that because there is a focus on solicited projects, it is taking time because the government is doing feasibility studies.

He said that in some cases, the studies have been done but need to be updated.

Purisima assured that by the time President Aquino gives his State of the Nation Address (SONA), the projects would be on stream already.

“By the end of the year, I think the ten projects would have been started already,” he said.

Purisima said that newly appointed Transportation Secretary Manuel Roxas II just needs time to study all the PPP projects in the pipeline.