ADB allots add’l $3-M tech assistance for PPP

MANILA, Philippines - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) may provide another $3-million to the technical assistance (TA) program for public-private partnerships (PPP) in the Philippines.

The additional amount will come from the government of Canada through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) on a grant basis.

The total TA budget is already $43.7 million, broken down as: $2 million grant from the ADB; $22 million from the government of Australia, through the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID); $1.2 million from the government of Canada, through CIDA; and $18.5 million from the government of the Philippines.

The additional grant will be used for the capacity building component of the program. It will likewise get an additional boost of $3.82 million from the Philippine government based on a cost-sharing ratio agreement of 44:56.

According to the ADB, the proposed increase will result in a larger number of well-prepared PPP projects from competitive bidding to sustain the positive momentum in the Aquino government’s flagship infrastructure program.

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) is the executive agency for the TA program, with the Department of Finance (DOF) and the Public-Private Partnership Center of the Philippines as the implementing agencies.

A midterm review will be conducted at the end of the first semester of 2013, which will determine whether to continue with a second phase of the program, which expires in July 2016.

The ADB likewise explained that support for the preparation of 15 PPP projects with a total amount of $15 million was already approved, tying up nearly 44 percent of the currently available Project Development and Monitoring Facility (PDMF) funds.

The first PDMF-funded project, the Public–Private Partnership for School Infrastructure Project for $389 million on build–lease–transfer terms, was awarded in September 2012. The winning bidders have reimbursed the PDMF the project preparation costs.

Bidding on another PDMF-funded project, the Philippine Orthopedic Center Modernization Project for $135.5 million on build-operate-transfer (BOT) terms, was initiated on Nov. 18, 2012. Feasibility studies under six other PDMF-funded projects have been completed by the transaction advisers and are being reviewed by the government.