THE Department of Transportation (DOTr) said it is considering the official development assistance (ODA) or Public-Private Partnership (PPP) schemes to fund the three big-ticket railway projects of the agency.
It was learned from DOTr Secretary Jaime Bautista that the South Long Haul Project, Mindanao Railway Project and Subic-Clark Railway may be financed via the ODA and PPP, while the government will fund the purchase of right-of-way.
“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. ‘Yung right of way, hindi ‘yan covered ng ODA. So, ito ay magiging gastos ng gobyerno,” Bautista said.
The options reportedly include the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB).
Bautista explained that since the three projects were under the past administration, they will need to get approval from the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) to update the cost of each peojct owing to the delay of their implemenetation and the increase in the prices 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,” aniya pa. “For us to be able to continue this projects, we need to get approval from NEDA for increase in cost, he said.”
