RP to create investment fund for PPP projects – Aquino

(Updated 6:47 p.m.)The government is now in the process of creating an investment fund to finance loans for infrastructure projects under the public-private sector partnerships (PPP) "at very low interest rates," President Benigno Aquino III said in a press conference at Malacañang Wednesday. The money would be used "for loans to pump prime the economy" and in relation to investments the country needs "to undertake massive infrastructure projects," the President said. After all, Aquino said Malacañang is in the works of formulating the PPP program. "We don't have an [executive order] yet, and we are still in the stages of discussion on the parameters, policies and guidelines on how best to proceed on encouraging the private sector in undertaking the massive infrastructure program that we need," he said. On Aug. 18, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Cayetano Paderanga Jr. said that projects were being readied to “strengthen the legal, institutional and governance framework" of these PPPs. The Philippines needs to boost its infrastructure "if we are to generate the six-million tourists we hope to achieve," Aquino said in Wednesday’s press conference, pointing out that the recent standoff at the Quirino Grandstand may have a minimal impact on tourism. "Given that negative incident at this time, and the infrastructure is not yet there, the impact will be minimal in the long term. I believe we will overcome this in the not so distant future," he said. "Of course, that will be up to the Tourism Department to reinvent the confidence of tourists," Aquino added. "If areas like Bali, for instance, have recovered from more massive loss of life, given enough time, I think we will be able to recover." The impact on the tourism industry of the bloody hostage crisis Monday, he said, will affect the country's economic growth. "In the short term, it will dent [the country's gross domestic product]. But in the long term, it will not. As you know, we are still in the midst of coming up with the infrastructure necessary to support the tourism industry," Aquino stressed. Aquino said even foreign financial institutions are bullish of the prospects of the country, "believing that the [Manila hostage crisis] is a temporary glitch that will not detract the positive outlook that they have of the country." —JE/VS, GMANews.TV