THE GOVERNMENT has added 23 projects with a combined value of P66.54 billion to the public-private partnership (PPP) pipeline, the PPP Center said.
The latest additions bring the number of PPPs in the pipeline to 173, valued at P3.17 trillion as of Oct. 16, according to a document released to reporters over the weekend.
Of the 23 new projects, 10 are national-level while 13 are local. Seven of the 23 projects are solicited.
New additions to the list include the modernization of the Air Traffic Service and Air Navigation Service, estimated to cost P29.82 billion.
Also included in the list is the Department of Finance’s Electronic Invoicing and Tax Engine Systems Project, which seeks to improve value-added tax collections. The project costs around P9.6 billion.
Other new PPP projects on the list include the Iloilo Bulk Water Supply Project (P8.45 billion); a hydroelectric power project in Nueva Ecija (P7.21 billion); the Marinduque Decarbonization project (P4.24 billion); the Nuclear Medicine Research and Innovation Center (P2.2 billion); and a government housing program in San Juan City (P1.47 billion).
Other proposed PPP projects include an P800-million waste management project in Quirino province; the P790-million South-Luzon Integrated Terminal Exchange Project; the P730 million Pampanga Dialysis Centers Project; the P360-million hemodialysis center in Isabela province, and the P320-million digitalization project of the Philippine Retirement Authority.
Also added to the pipeline were the digitalization of traffic systems in Cavite and Butuan; a food and drug license and clearance system; the adoption of a solar photovoltaic system at the Mariano Marcos State University; and the improvement of a hospital in Nueva Ecija.
The center has yet to finalize the estimated value of five solicited PPP projects — the Cavite Bulk Water Supply project, the modernization of the Poro Point Seaport in La Union, a housing program in Oriental Mindoro, and Education department infrastructure projects.
On the other hand, the government delisted 12 PPP projects, of which nine are national and three local.
These included the Metro Cebu Expressway (P94.07 billion) and the P45.15-billion redevelopment of the Manila Seedling Site.
It also delisted a P4.34-billion project seeking to improve of the Philippine Identification System, which has been suffering delays in printing the national identification cards.
Also removed from the list were the P390-million Road Transport IT Infrastructure project Phase II; the P180-million underground cabling project in Bacolod City; and the P20-million Smart City ICT project in New Clark City.
Delisted projects with no estimated cost include the Pangasinan-Nueva Ecija Expressway; Dingalan-Capas-Botolan Expressway; Mindoro-Batangas Super Bridge; Pacific Eastern Seaboard Expressway Infanta-Atimonan Segment; and a city college canteen and criminology firing range in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz