Consultant laments slow pace of PPP

MANILA, Philippines - An international consultant on transportation is pushing for the speedy implementation of major infrastructure projects under the public private partnership (PPP) scheme.

Rene Santiago, president of consultancy firm Bellwether Advisory Inc., said in a press conference that the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) has yet to implement a major PPP project particularly the much needed infrastructure that could address the worsening traffic situation in Metro Manila.

Santiago said the bidding of three major infrastructure projects under the DOTC including the P60-billion light rail transit line 1 (LRT1) Cavite extension project, the P17.5-billion Mactan Cebu international airport expansion project, and the P1.7-billion automated fare collection system (AFCS) project has been repeatedly postponed.

The DOTC is set to rebid the Cavite LRT extension project in the first quarter of next year after a failed bidding last Aug. 15 while the deadline for the submission of bids for the single ticketing project of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) and the LRT has been moved to October.

Likewise, the bidding for the P17.5-billion expansion of the country’s second largest international gateway in Mactan and Cebu has been moved to

Nov. 15 as the government improved the terms of the bidding to make it commercially viable for the bidders.

He added that the increase in the passenger capacity of both the MRT and LRT have yet to take off together with the rehabilitation of the existing tracks of both mass transit systems.

According to him, the DOTC should not only look at the acquisition of additional trains but also should consider beefing up the power supply, reconfigure existing stations, and improve signaling system for both rail systems.

He explained that at least P10 billion is needed to double the passenger capacity of MRT3 along Edsa that is currently serving close to 600,000 passengers per day or double the capacity of 300,000 per day.

He revealed that he submitted proposals to extend the LRT lines 1 and 2 as early as 1998 but all his proposals were ignored by the DOTC.

The consultant said the funds for the much needed infrastructure project are readily available but it is the inability of the officials particularly in the DOTC to execute the projects.

“We are just fortunate to have brilliant leaders at the DOTC today. You must be so brilliant to mess it all up,” he said sarcastically.

A study by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) stressed the need to put up at least 200 kilometers or railroad and 300 kilometers in road network to address the congested metropolis.

Including the rail network of Philippine National Railways from Alabang to Tutuban as well as the MRT and LRT, the Philippines has a rail network of about 80 kilometers.