THE Department of Transportation (DOTr) is considering official development assistance (ODA) or Public-Private Partnership (PPP) schemes to finance three big-ticket railway projects after the agency decided to drop China as its partner to bankroll the projects. eyes
Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said the South Long Haul Project, Mindanao Railway Project, and Subic-Clark Railway will either be financed through ODA and PPP, with the government shelling out for right-of-way acquisition.
“Itong tatlong railway projects na ito can either be financed by ODA, Public-Private Partnership or the government. We’re looking at those three sources to finance these projects,” Secretary Bautista said.
“Yung right of way, hindi ‘yan covered ng ODA. So, ito ay magiging gastos ng gobyerno,” he added.
The transport chief said the DOTr is looking at the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as options to finance the projects.
With the three projects being under the previous administration, Secretary Bautista explained that the transport agency must first get approval from the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) to update each project’s cost due to the delay of its implementation, and the rising cost of materials and labor.
“Ang gagawin natin dito kukuha muna tayo ng update approval. Tingin ko magkakaroon ito ng additional cost because of the delay, cost of materials, labor, so kailangan i-update natin yan,” Secretary Bautista said.
“For us to be able to continue this projects, we need to get approval from NEDA for increase in cost,” he added.
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