NEDA, PPP set up hub for government projects

TECH TRENDS

Dionisio Dennis Jr.

BAGUIO CITY -- The National Economic and Development Authority’s (NEDA) office in the Cordillera region and the Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) Center have partnered to set up a hub that would give locals easy access to information on government projects.

With the center’s hub, local government units (LGUs) in the region, universities and state colleges, government-owned and -controlled corporations, water districts, regional line agencies, and other stakeholders can now acquire accurate information on the public-private partnership scheme.

NEDA-Cordillera Director Milagros Rimando said on Friday the hub, launched last May 28, will serve as a knowledge corner where LGUs and other implementing agencies can get information and services that the PPP Center provides.

As the hub will have a staff and a focal person, Rimando said address queries, concerns, and requests for assistance would be immediately addressed.

With the center now in Baguio, she said, bankable and viable projects that would benefit the locals would now be easier to implement.

She said the establishment of the PPP knowledge corner in the region is in line with the thrust of President Rodrigo Duterte to explore all avenues of equitable growth and development in the countryside.

“The administration believes that through the rapid building of infrastructure projects, all Filipinos can enjoy a ‘matatag, maginhawa, at panatag na buhay’ (strong, comfortable, and stable life)," she said. "We’re hoping that with the initiative, we can encourage more local implementing agencies to consider PPP as one of their options for their infrastructure and development projects.”

Rimando relayed the statement of PPP Center Capacity Building and Knowledge Management Service (CBKMS) director Jomel Anthony Gutierrez that the PPP aims to provide technical support service to all local implementing agencies of PPP projects in the region.

At the launch, Gutierrez said the only LGUs in the Cordillera that have benefited from their technical support service for PPP projects so far are Baguio City and Benguet province.

The official said the partnership to establish the PPP knowledge corner is a strategy to maximize the potentials and capabilities of local PPP project implementers.

“With this initiative, the PPP center can now fully provide technical support service to ensure all projects and developments are well implemented,” Rimando said. (Dionisio Dennis Jr./ PNA)