Bautista pitches transport projects before ECCP, EU-ASEAN Biz Council

Transportation Secretary Jaime J. Bautista urged top officials of the European Union (EU)-Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Council and European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) to invest in big-ticket infrastructure transport projects.

Sec. Bautista highlighted the added value of projects being implemented by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) in partnership with international financial institutions, foreign governments and business groups.

Due to budgetary constraints, project financing from foreign business groups presented the most viable option to undertake these projects, according to the transport chief.

“The biggest obstacle has always been fund-sourcing, considering the strained national budget of our government after coming out of the pandemic,” Sec. Bautista explained during informal discussions with officials of the EU-ASEAN Business Council and ECCP.

“We have offered various infrastructure transport projects to international financial institutions, private investors, and professional associations and industry groups,” he told the delegates.

Sec. Bautista cited the proposed privatization of the operations and management of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and New Manila International Airport as an option for private sector investment.

“Other regional airports across the country are in the pipeline for privatization,” he said.

Sec. Bautista likewise touted infrastructure projects in various transport sectors such as railways, maritime and road, including the Metro Manila Subway, North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR), LRT-1 Cavite Extension Project, MRT-7, and MRT-4.

“It’s important because they can assist us in financing the projects through PPP so, we hope that the investors from their countries can be supportive of many projects of DOTr. We have PPP projects for airports, rails and for roads and for maritime,” Bautista said.