BAGUIO CITY — The city government’s Public-Private Partnership for the People Initiative (P4) selection committee is looking at the viability of 16 potential projects, which are set to be implemented from 2018 to 2022.
The 16 projects have been listed for consideration in the four-year Local Development Investment Program (LDIP), which is still up for approval soon by the city council, lawyer Leticia Clemente, city budget officer and chair of the P4 selection committee, told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Thursday.
Ten of the eyed projects have a total estimated cost of PHP16.79 billion. These are: the construction, repair, and installation of traffic facilities; underground electric and communication distribution network; high-end sports facility; development of the Baguio City public market; development of various satellite markets and Pasalubong Center; construction of sewage treatment facility; rehabilitation and improvement of the Baguio Convention Center; Burnham Park development and rehabilitation; rehabilitation of the Loakan Airport; and the Asin mini-hydro development project.
The six other projects did not have cost estimates. These are alternative technologies on solid waste management, acquisition of lot and development of the southbound bus terminal, northbound bus terminals, aerial ropeway transport, preparation of a comprehensive drainage master plan, and lot acquisition for city cemetery expansion.
Clemente explained that in the meeting of the committee last week, the members had decided to first come up with a policy to make sure that those listed in the LDIP are what the whole city wants, aligned with the direction that the city wants to pursue.
“If we will have a waste-to-energy as a PPP project, for example, is that the direction we really want to go? We have to know because the PPP contracts are long-term and we cannot compromise the welfare of Baguio,” she pointed out.
She said the determination of a project’s viability must be based on the city’s development plans duly approved by the city council.
“This is a long-term agreement we will be tied up if it is not thoroughly studied. Once we enter into a PPP agreement, that’s it and you are dead if you commit a mistake,” she added.
Clemente added other factors for considering PPP projects are the eligibility of the proponents, the proposal itself, and technical requirements backed by studies of the city’s technical staff.
She said the city’s P4 selection committee has formed a technical working group to help in studying the project proposals.
Earlier, city information office chief Aileen Refuerzo released a list of unsolicited PPP proposals submitted to the city government.
The proposed projects were: the lease of the Dominical Heritage Hill and Nature Park and the restoration, redevelopment, and improvement of the Old Diplomat Hotel; the lease of the Botanical Garden for the Enchanted Garden; establishment of the Dinosaur Island Baguio, redevelopment of the skating rink at Burnham Park like that in Tuba, Benguet; the development, operation, and management of the Burnham Parking Center; the 24/7 on-line viewable and verifiable police clearance card; and the creation of an automated processing and issuance of health card with online application and verification platform. (Liza Agoot/PNA)
