Bhutan looks at Phl PPP School Infra Project

MANILA, Philippines - Officials of the government of Bhutan recently paid a visit to one of Megawide Construction Corp.’s infrastructure projects as part of their three-day itinerary to learn more about the public-private partnership (PPP) model and the details of specific construction projects under the scheme.

Megawide, together with faculty and students of the Cabilang Baybay Elementary School in Carmona, Cavite, welcomed the nine-member delegation, with representatives from the PPP Center and the Department of Education (DepEd) taking part in the presentation of the PPP school infrastructure project to the Bhutan officials composed of department secretaries and senior planning officers from various government agencies.

“The purpose of our visit is to hear and learn from the experience of the Philippines with regard to undertaking infrastructure projects under the public-private partners model. For most of us, we are hearing about PPP schools for the first time,” said Bhutan Economic Affairs Secretary Sonam Tshering, who headed the delegation.

“We know that PPP projects involve roads and other such structures. So we’d be glad to hear about how Megawide and the Department of Education entered into this partnership [using a] successful model,” Tshering added.

After DepEd’s representative – engineer Annabelle Pangan, officer-in- charge of the Physical Facilities and Schools Engineering Division – gave an extensive presentation of the agency’s role in the PSIP team-up including facts and figures on the different phases of the venture, Megawide’s marketing manager Genna Mijares and regional director for Region 4-A John Harold Manuel provided the delegates a closer look at the project, which involves the construction of nearly 10,000 classrooms at 2,800 job sites.