MANILA, PHILIPPINES, JULY 8, 2013
– IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, assisted the Philippines’ Department of Public Works and Highways in conducting a successful bid for a public-private partnership to build an elevated toll road that connects Manila’s three airports and improves transport access for 100,000 passengers daily.
The seven-kilometer four-lane NAIA Expressway is expected to ease traffic at the country’s busiest airports and serve as a crucial link connecting the northern and southern ends of Metro Manila, which has a population of 20 million and accounts for about a third of the Philippines’ gross domestic product.
“IFC’s global experience in public-private partnerships proved invaluable for us in doing this critical project in the right way, avoiding undue delays and other technical pitfalls, and showing transparency and fairness throughout the entire process,” said Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson.
The Department of Public Works and Highways and the winning bidder, Optimal Infrastructure Development Inc., formally signed the contract today. Earlier, the company paid the department an upfront fee of 11 billion Philippine pesos for the right to build the toll road and collect fees from motorists for 30 years.
IFC provided its expertise, together with the Development Bank of the Philippines, in the technical and financial structuring of the bid to make it attractive to private sector investors. The project is expected to mobilize about $360 million in private investments over the next five years. The elevated toll road, which is estimated to cost 15 billion Philippines pesos to build, will also connect to Entertainment City, a 100-hectare complex that is positioned as an international gaming and leisure resort.
“Through our public-private partnership team, we are glad to help enhance the government’s capacity to prepare well-developed projects that will attract private investments and achieve its intended economic development objectives,” said IFC Resident Representative Jesse Ang.
Over the next 18 months, IFC will be advising the Philippine government in the bids of three other projects that amount to 55.5 billion Philippine pesos. The first one is a 12-kilometer extension of the Light Rail Transit Line 1 that ferries up to 500,000 passengers daily; the second one is a major upgrade of one of southern Philippines’ principal ports in Davao, while the last one is the construction of 11 modern corn warehouses in various sites throughout the country.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. We help developing countries achieve sustainable growth by financing investment, mobilizing capital in international financial markets, and providing advisory services to businesses and governments. In FY12, our investments reached an all-time high of more than $20 billion, leveraging the power of the private sector to create jobs, spark innovation, and tackle the world’s most pressing development challenges. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
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