Legal issues delay infrastructure projects, says Neri

Legal obstacles have been identified as among the reasons why infrastructure projects are being delayed and investors are wary of bringing in business in the country, an economic manager said.

"The main source of delay is the legal issues sometimes that’s why there are snags in the project," Socioeconomic Planning Secretary and National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Director General Romulo L. Neri, said.

"Who would want to invest in us with all those legal problems. Every time we have a project, the project is considered illegal or null and void," Neri noted.

He cited the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 as an example. "That’s $600 million worth of facilities and we are not using it," he said.

The mothballed terminal was ready for operation in 2003 but legal battles between the National Government and the contractor, Germany’s Frankfurt Airport Services Worldwide (Fraport), delayed the airport’s opening.

The Supreme Court has declared the contract between the government and Fraport null and void.

"You end up with very expensive building facilities that you cannot use. It is economically wasteful," Neri explained.

To address this problem, Neri said that legal obstacles must be discussed.

"One thing is, before we can start a project we clear the legal obstacles. They should be well defined so we can address them.

NEDA and the Supreme Court are currently discussing legal issues regarding different investment projects.

Neri said they will talk about legal issues and bottlenecks affecting infrastructure projects, determine the legal consequences of these issues, and recommend measures to facilitate implementation of public infrastructure projects.

Fortunato R. Abrenilla, NEDA legal staff director, said the forum will try to consolidate all the legal issues and problems on the implementation of infrastructure projects, submit recommendations with corresponding action plan and activities, and come up with a memorandum of agreement (MOA).