The government plans to approve 28 projects including digital infrastructure under a public-private partnership or PPP arrangement this year and the next, the PPP Center said.

Breaking it down, the government aims to approve 15 projects this year and 13 in 2025.

These are based on data shown by PPP executive director Cynthia Hernandez in an economic forum organized by SGV & Co. and held Monday at the Peninsula Manila, Makati City.

"We're working together with different implementing agencies to make sure these projects are feasible. They are also being aligned with NEDA (National Economic and Development Authority) plans," she said.

As of 2 February, Hernandez said there are 117 PPP projects in the pipeline with a total cost of over P2.4 billion.

Most, or 96 of these are national projects, while 21 are local.

Digital infrastructure prioritized

The NEDA said digital infrastructure is among the priorities of the Marcos administration.

“We think Philippine transformation is really about digital connectivity. We've seen that it saved us during Covid. Unfortunately, it was not as ubiquitous as we wanted it to be," NEDA undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon said.

She said widespread access to digital tools will help bring more investors to the Philippines, creating exchange of technologies for use in various industries.

Two other priority sectors are transportation and energy projects which Edillion said are also key to manufacturing growth and freedom of mobility.