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Ayala Group open to PPPs on infra, education with LGUs
By JON VIKTOR D. CABUENAS,GMA News The Ayala Group on Thursday said it is open to pursuing public-private partnership (PPP) projects with local government units (LGUs), primarily on infrastructure and education.
While most of the PPPs are with the national government, Ayala Corp. chief executive officer Jaime August Zobel de Ayala said there are avenues for partnerships with the local government units.
"I think just like there's been engagement at the national level during this COVID crisis, there is so much we can do with the LGUs," he told the House committee on economic affairs in a virtual briefing.
"The one that comes to mind is infrastructure. I think every local government now is gonna face certain challenges," he said.
The Ayala Group has been involved in several PPP project, such as the Muntinlupa-Cavite Expressway, the Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT1) Cavite extension, and the Automated Fare Collection System that operates the beep card systems.
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According to Zobel de Ayala, the group is also open to working with the LGU for projects on education.
"Local government units are gonna be faced with a situation where the youth in their district will not be able to attend school, at least for the moment, in a way that they've been used to in the past. What does one do? I think the private sector can come in and work hand in hand," he said.
"Work with local government units and leadership teams to refashion the schooling system—make it more digital, more virtual, and provide some capitals together with the funds of the local government units to create a new system," he added.
The Ayala Group is involved in the education business, as it operates the Affordable Private Education Center Inc. (APEC).
"Infrastructure comes to mind, digitization comes to mind, education comes to mind. In all these areas, I think there's a role that private sector can play together with local government units," said Zobel de Ayala.—AOL, GMA News