ILOILO City – A modern slaughterhouse. Rehabilitation of public markets. A waste-to-energy facility. The city government wants these multimillion-peso projects realized through public-private partnership (PPP).
The modernization of the city’s slaughterhouse in Barangay Tacas, Jaro district has the most number of interested investors – seven, said Mayor Jerry Treñas.
On the other hand, the waste-to-energy project for the city’s sanitary landfill in Barangay Calajunan, Mandurriao district has attracted four interested companies, he revealed.
A motley of investors, too, have shown interested in rehabilitating the public markets, said Treñas.
Four months ago, in August, the city government entered into a memorandum of agreement with the PPP Center for assistance in realizing these three priority undertakings.
The Center espouses the PPP scheme – a contractual agreement between the government and a private firm targeted towards financing, designing, implementing, and operating infrastructure facilities and services traditionally provided by the public sector.
This scheme, said Treñas, would free a portion of the city government’s budget for social projects beneficial to people.
“Ang aton sanitary landfill solid waste management program (waste-to-energy project), ang terms of reference napadala na sa ila (PPP Center) kag ginahulat na lang naton ma-finalize ang iban nga mga programs. Amo man sa public markets and slaughterhouse,” said Treñas.
He stressed the importance of having a better slaughterhouse.
“A premier city like us should not have an abattoir where animals are butchered on the floor. We can’t say meat from our slaughterhouse is safe when the facility is incapable of slaughtering animals the right way,” said Treñas.
On the other hand, in rehabilitating the public markets Treñas clarified the small vendors will continue to stay in their stalls.
“We will retain the ground floor for the vendors. We will protect social issues. The investors may be free as to how tall they will decide to go up with their development,” he said.
The city’s markets are not meeting their target collections and suffering from congestion, clogged drainage system, leaked roofs as well as flooding.
PPP has been considered an option and best solution to implement priority infrastructure initiatives amid budgetary constraints.
“We need to enter into PPP. It will ensure revenues for the city government. Our markets are also in deplorable state. We want to have the best public markets in Western Visayas,” Treñas said.
An investor also signified interest in a modern mass transport system for the city such as a rapid bus transit, according to the mayor.
“What we want is for Iloilo to have an efficient and modern mass transport, be it a bus or a tram or whatever,” said Treñas./PN
