A TOTAL of 117 public-private partnership (PPP) projects worth P2.5 trillion are in the pipeline for possible implementation, PPP Center Executive Director Ma. Cynthia Hernandez said on Monday.

The number, she told reporters at the sidelines of an economic forum, is higher than the 109 projects worth P2.4 trillion announced last year.

PPP Center Executive Director Ma. Cynthia Hernandez. Photo from Public-Private Partnership Center FB page

Out of the 117 projects, 15 are expected to be approved this year, Hernandez said, comprising solicited offers "that we are actively developing with implementing agencies."

Another 13 are up for approval in 2025, during which the PPP center expects "a large volume of unsolicited proposals because of the new PPP Code."

The Code, which President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed last December, aims to provide a framework for the implementation of vital infrastructure projects.

Hernandez said that the bulk of the proposed PPPs remain focused on transportation, but added that "we have also been slowly building up our pipeline in other priority sectors, such as solid waste management, health, water, and ICT (information and communications technology)."

Solicited projects in the pipeline include operations and maintenance (O&M) contracts for the Metro Manila Subway, North-South Commuter Rail, Cebu Bus Rapid Transit, Davao City Bypass Project, Metro Rail Transit Line 3, and the Light Rail Transit Line 2.

"[T]he concept is we will be procuring the O&Ms relatively early for the PPPs," Hernandez said. "This will reduce interface risks and the government really doesn't have the capacity to operate the projects when they [are] finish[ed]."

Unsolicited projects, meanwhile, include the rehabilitation, operation, maintenance, and expansion of the Puerto Princesa International Airport, the upgrade, expansion, operations, and maintenance of the New Bohol International Airport, rehabilitation of Iloilo International Airport, long-term water source development for Metro Manila, and the operation of the Philippine Identification System.

"In the past few months, we've been receiving a lot of unsolicited proposals, and these are also part of what we expect to be approved in 2024," Hernandez said.

"For 2025, we have these projects that are currently in the early stages of development and the preliminary studies are expected to be completed. Once completed, they can be submitted by the implementing agencies for approval by 2025," she added.

These include the New Cebu International Container Port, Air Navigation Services – Air Traffic Services Project, Philippine Automatic Fare Collection System, San Mateo Railway Project, Manila Bay-Pasig River-Laguna Lake Ferry Project, North Integrated Transport System, Mindanao Railway Project, and the North Long Haul Inter-Regional Railway Project.

Hernandez said the PPP Center was also helping government agencies develop projects through its project development and monitoring facility.

"[It]'s a $99.2-million revolving fund that is primarily used to assist in the preparation of project studies, as well as the preparation and management of the bid process during the time that projects are completed," she explained.