By Justin Irish D. Tabile, senior correspondent
The Center for Public-Private Partnership (PPP) said the war in the Middle East has had no impact so far on interest in PPP contracts, although it is less certain whether sentiment will persist as long as the fighting continues.
“In terms of what the PPP wants in the future, I don't think there will be any impact in the near future, given that right now we have a lot in the pipeline and we still have to act on them, approve them, and deliver them,” said Riza Blanco-Latorre, executive director of the PPP Center. Businessworld.
“If (the war) drags on, perhaps we will see (the impact), but at least in the near term, there is nothing that we expect to (affect) the number of PPP projects coming to the Centre,” he said.
As of March 27, the PPP Center had 250 projects in the pipeline, worth P3.26 trillion.
The PPP center said 166 projects worth P3.12 trillion will be implemented by the national government, while 84 projects worth P137 billion will be overseen by local government units (LGUs).
195 projects are sought or initiated by the government, while the remaining 55 projects are unsolicited.
Railways contributed P1.97 trillion to the project value, followed by property development (P364.99 billion) and land transportation (P271.22 billion).
Projects located in the National Capital Region amount to P2.17 trillion, followed by Central Luzon (P1.26 trillion) and Ilocos Region (P827.76 billion).
He said the main concern at this time was to evaluate the impact of the war on operational projects.
“For example, toll roads are giving waivers, and Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3 is giving waivers; many of them are PPPs, so we are examining what impact this will have on existing contracts, if any,” he said.
He said the ideal scenario would be to complete the ongoing projects as soon as possible.
He said, “The more you delay (projects under implementation), the more uncertainties grow and worries grow, so you don't know how it will all pan out. Faster is better, and I think that's what (everyone else's thinking) is as well, to get the projects done as quickly as possible.”
As of March 27, the PPP Center classified 287 projects worth P3.57 trillion in the implementation stage.