SSS plans to invest in PPP program

MANILA, Philippines – The Social Security System (SSS) is planning to invest in the Aquino administration’s much touted public-private partnership (PPP) for infrastructure.

In an interview with The STAR, SSS president and chief executive officer Emilio de Quiros Jr. said the agency wants to invest in the planned PPP projects of the government to diversify its investments and to maximize available opportunities.

SSS would likely invest in the program through infrastructure bonds, which the government plans to help finance projects under the PPP scheme, he said.

“There will be opportunities with the PPP projects. We’re looking at those projects very carefully. I think we will participate if the government will be floating bonds,” De Quiros said.

He said that if SSS’ investment in the project would push through, it would need government guarantee.

“That is required by our charter,” said De Quiros, who has extensive background in banking.

There are no specific projects that SSS has identified but De Quiros said they are “looking at the opportunities very carefully.”

The Aquino administration is eyeing to bid out contracts for roads and airports in the first half of the year under the PPP program.

The NEDA-Investment Coordinating Committee (ICC) is expected to spearhead the bidding out of the contracts in close coordination with the Department of Finance.

The priority projects are airports and new roads or major road improvements, as these would make the country more attractive to local and foreign investors.

Earlier, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima also said that the administration would stick to solicited proposals instead of unsolicited proposals, which are more prone to “sweetheart deals.”

A PPP is a contractual arrangement between government and the private sector to deliver public infrastructure and public services. It is being pushed by the Aquino administration so that it would have more funds for public health and education.

Last November, the government launched its PPP summit to trumpet at least 10 planned infrastructure projects to potential investors.

Infrastructure projects presented during the summit include linking the Manila-Cavite Coastal Road with the South Luzon Expressway.

The 27.5-kilometer Cala Expressway hopes to decongest the traffic in Cavite and provide access among the different economic zones covering the two areas.

For the LRT, the Aquino administration hopes to bid out the privatization of LRT Line 1 operation and management.

Another possible partnership is the extension project of LRT 1 which involves the construction of an 11.7-kilometer extension, to be implemented from 2011 to 2015. The government is also planning an extension of LRT Line 2 East under which there will be a four-kilometer railway system to be constructed during the period 2011 to 2014.

The Aquino administration hopes to create more fiscal space with the PPP initiatives. –Iris C. Gonzales, The Philippine Star