Aquino admin to search for Chinese partners for investment program

The Aquino administration is drumming up interest among Chinese investors for its public-private partnership program (PPP) on infrastructure by running a four-day road show in Beijing and Shanghai. Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima is leading the four-day tour which started Monday and will end this Thursday, the Department of Finance said in a statement Tuesday. “We want to encourage our Chinese investors to put their money in the Philippines and invest in our infrastructure projects. We want to deliver the message that the Aquino administration is committed to transparent negotiations with them unlike before when dealings have been veiled in backroom exercises," the department said citing Purisima. Chinese investors are interested in bidding for the first five PPP projects the government announced last month, specifically contracts to operate and maintain the Light Rail Transit line 1 and Metro Rail Transit 3, the Finance chief said. The Philippine delegation will meet with members and representatives of the China Contractors Association, power provider State Grid of China Corp. and China Railway Engineering. “The delegation will also pay a courtesy call to China Vice Premier Wang Qishan in a bid to boost our bilateral relations with China, now the second largest economy in the world," the department said. Other members of the delegation are Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson, Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo, Transportation Undersecretary Ruben Reinoso Jr., Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Gov. Amando Tetangco Jr., BSP Investor Relations executive director Claro Fernandez, and PPP Center executive director Philamer Torio. Billed as the Aquino administration economic centerpiece, the PPP aims to tap private investments for 80 large-scale infrastructure projects worth P740 billion from 2011 and beyond. Five projects The five initial projects include the 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; the P7.7-billion Privatization of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) 1 Operation and Maintenance Project; the P6.3-billion Privatization of Metro Rail Transit (MRT) 3 Operation and Maintenance Project and the P21-billion NLEX-SLEX Connector Project. The P1.6-billion Daang Hari-Slex Link Road Project is a new 3.68-kilometer, four-lane road that will run through the New Bilibid Prison, connecting Bacoor, Cavite to the South Luzon Expressway near the Susana Heights area. Finance Department data showed the proposed link will complement the Cavite-Laguna-east-west highway and address the need for additional access between Metro Manila and Cavite, where rapid urbanization and consequent traffic congestion is happening. The NAIA Expressway Phase II Project involves the construction of the Skyway and the Manila-Cavite Coastal Expressway to give NAIA Terminals 1, 2 and 3 more access points. The privatization of LRT 1 Operation and Maintenance, meanwhile, aims to integrate the LRT-1 operation and maintenance to a private service provider during the three- to four-year interim period. After which the LRT Line 1 South Extension Project contractor is expected to take overall responsibility for the integrated LRT Line 1 and MRT Line 3 systems. Similarly the privatization of MRT 3 aims to integrate MRT Line 3 operation and maintenance to a private service provider. Of the five projects, the one involving gargantuan cost is the NLEX-SLEX Connector at P21 billion. The project will construction a 13.4- km, four-lane elevated expressed way over the Philippine National Railway right-of-way from Caloocan to Makati. “The project, which is elevated over PNR right-of-way, aims to close the gap and complete the north-south Luzon industrial beltway transport axis by connecting NLEX and SLEX. The project will contribute to decongest Metro Manila traffic, particularly EDSA," according to its project brief. It is also designed to give its users 24-hour access to Manila ports. — VS, GMA News