CAMARINES Sur Rep. Luis Ray Villafuerte on Sunday urged local government units to take advantage of a P2.58-billion fund that they can use to check the viability, and efficiently prepare and monitor their large-scale development projects undertaken through a public-private partnership.
The P2.58-billion project development and monitoring facility managed by the PPP Center has now become even more relevant for local government units given that business conglomerates, such as the Ayala Group and the First Metro Investment Corp., have started looking for projects outside Metro Manila as part of the Duterte administration’s planned “Golden Age of Infrastructure,” he said.
“These major infra projects implemented in partnership with the private sector would transform LGUs into engines of economic growth, the only way to disperse investments, create enough jobs and spur inclusive growth in the regions,” he added.
“It will also open opportunities for private firms in search of new business locations, and thereby foster a better environment for investments outside the metro and other major urban centers.”
He cited reports that big firms, such as the Gotianun-led Cyberzone Properties Inc., have now trained their sights on big-ticket infrastructure projects in the provinces to seize business opportunities under the government’s massive infrastructure program.
He said the national government also encourages LGUs to tap the PDMF’s revolving facility to fund pre-feasibility and feasibility studies, project structuring, preparation of bid documents and project monitoring for their proposed initiatives.
Villafuerte authored House Bill No. 5805 seeking to strengthen the PPP mode of financing large-scale government projects through the expansion of the composition of the PPP board.