DOTr eyes private partners in ongoing Cebu BRT project

CEBU, Philippines — The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is looking at a public-private partnership in the ongoing implementation of the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (CBRT) project and other big ticket infrastructure projects in the country.

Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said the government could tap the assistance of the private sector considering the limited public funds.

"There are many government projects that need private sector's support because the government has limited funds," Bautista told the members of the Makati Business Club during a forum.

He said there are several big-ticket transport projects in the rail, aviation, and road sectors where Public-Private Partnership (PPP) can be implemented. Among these, he said, are the Cebu BRT and the Davao BRT.

However, Engr. Roberto “Bo” Varquez, overseer of the CBRT project, said the infrastructure aspect was already funded through foreign loans.

In 2014, the government obtained US$116-million loan from the World Bank and another US$57.4 million from French Development Agency to finance the BRT project. The loan from World Bank, however, ended last March while the one from the French government is also set to end on June 30, 2023.

Varquez said the government has already asked for extension of the loan owing to the delay in the implementation of the project. He is, however, confident that the extension will be granted considering that representatives from both the World Bank and French government witnessed the groundbreaking of the project last February.

“This time, nakasugod naman, kampante ra mi nga makuha nato ang extension…Mao may ingon sa World Bank nga as long as you have a justifiable reason na e-extend, wala gyud na silay problema,” said Varquez.

According to Varquez, the PPP could still be explored not on the infrastructure but on the buses to be deployed in the BRT route.

In an interview with The Freeman during the groundbreaking ceremony in February, Bautista said they are planning to deploy at least 80 modernized buses, preferably electric buses, along the BRT route.

Varquez said the phase 1 of CBRT project is now 15 percent complete, eight months before December. President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. promised during the groundbreaking to complete the project by the yearend as his Christmas gift to the Cebuanos. (FREEMAN)