TEN priority projects, including international airports and new light rail projects, will be implemented starting next year through government partnerships with the private sector.
Budget Secretary Florencio B. Abad said last week the short list, to be chosen from an initial list of 70 projects, includes airports on Panglao Island off Bohol and another in Daraga, Albay; the improvement of the Laguindingan airport in Misamis Oriental and an irrigation facility in Sultan Kudarat and additional lines of the Light Rail Transit system.
“The government is looking forward to generating P180 billion to P200 billion in PPP (public-private partnership) undertakings” next year, Abad said.
President Benigno Aquino III announced the PPP scheme during his State-of-the-Nation address, saying the government on its own cannot fund capital-intensive infrastructure projects given the gaping budget deficit.
As government counterpart, Abad said Malacañang included in its proposed “Reform Budget for 2011” P15 billion as strategic support fund for PPP projects. The amount is distributed equally among the departments of Public Works and Highways, Transportation and Communication, and Agriculture.
