MANILA, Philippines – The Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center of the Philippines in partnership with the Australian Trade Commission (AusTrade), with support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), organized a two-day Philippine-Australia Policy Conference at Crowne Plaza Manila in Ortigas Center from August 17-18, 2015. This follows the successful Policy Dialogue in Mactan, Cebu last week attended by high-level government officials.
The Policy Conference provided a forum for knowledge sharing on best practices and policies from Australia’s PPP experience. It showcased how Australia has sustained its PPP program over the years.
“This is an opportunity for us to hear and learn from Australia’s rich experiences on its PPP institutional framework, best practices on project preparation and implementation, transparency and good governance in project delivery and understanding of key legal issues in PPPs,” said PPP Center Executive Director Cosette V. Canilao.
Discussions covered topics on the role of the Australian government in promoting PPPs, successful bidding best practices, PPP financing options for infrastructure projects, and probity advisory services during the procurement stage.
Australian PPP Experts and practitioners were resource speakers during the sessions. These included Mr. Gerard Blood, Director of Infrastructure Australia; Mr. Anthony Lubofsky, Project Director of Public Transport Victoria; Andrew Marsden, Founding Director of O’Connor Marsden and Associates; and Mr. Leighton O’Brien, Partner at Allens Linklaters.
The Conference was participated by middle-level managers and technical staff from various government agencies involved in the PPP processes that include Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Transportation and
Communications (DOTC), Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Health (DOH), Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Finance (DOF), National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC), Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), Department of National Defense (DND), Office of the Deputy Executive Secretary for General Administration (ODESGA), Senate Economic Planning Office, Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), Presidential Legislative Liaison Office (PLLO), Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), and National Competitiveness Council.
The PPP Policy Conference is aligned with the PPP Center’s commitment to further enhance the legal and regulatory framework that governs PPPs in the country. The PPP Center is also pushing for the enactment of the PPP Act or the amendments to the BOT Law that will institutionalize the various policy and process reforms it has put in place.
PH-AUS PPP Policy Conference held in Manila
