East-West Rail, Manila Bay flood control projects up for ICC approval

Two unsolicited infrastructure projects will be presented to the Investment Coordination Committee (ICC) of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), the Public-Private Partnership Center (PPP) said Wednesday.

"For approval, we are currently evaluating two unsolicited proposals," Mia Mary Sebastian, deputy executive director of the PPP Center, said during the AVCJ Private Equity and Venture Forum in Makati City.

These are the East-West Rail Project and the Manila Bay Flood Control Project.

East-West Rail was proposed by the East-West Rail Transit  Corp., a consortium between A. Brown Company Inc. and Private Equity Investment and Development Corp. It involves the financing, design, construction, and maintenance of a mostly-elevated 9.4-kilometer railway line from Diliman in Quezon City to Lerma in Manila.

To be implemented by the Philippine National Railways, the project will have 11 stations and provide interconnecting facilities with other rail systems.

The Manila Bay Integrated Flood Control, Coastal Defense and Expressway Project was proposed by the Coastal Development Consortium (CDC), to be implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

The project will be implemented through an alternative PPP scheme using the Build-Gradual Transfer (BGT) for the City Flood and Coastal Defense components, and a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) scheme for the expressway component.

Sebastian said both projects have to be appraised by the PNR and the DPWH.

"Once the appraisal has been finished or completed, it will undergo the ICC-NEDA Board approval process," she said.

Sebastian said there will be another ICC meeting this year, but a definite date has not yet been set. — VDS, GMA News