NEDA Board Approves First PPP Under Marcos

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board approved on Thursday, Feb. 2, the construction of a P6-billion cancer center, the first public-private partnership (PPP) project to secure the body's nod under the Marcos administration.

The University of the Philippines–Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) Cancer Center is envisioned to modernize the country’s health infrastructure on oncology services and cancer care, Presidential Communications Secretary Cheloy Garafil said in a statement.

The 300-bed capacity hospital will occupy a lot area of 3,000 square meters and will be located within the UP-PGH campus in Manila.

“The project aims to establish UP-PGH’s dedicated cancer hospital that will modernize its health infrastructure and offer comprehensive, high-quality, and affordable oncology services towards enhancing the country’s health service quality and capacity for cancer care,” Garafil said.

The project will be solicited from the public through the submission of a bid and will be structured as a 30-year Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) arrangement under the BOT Law.

The BOT involves granting a concession to a private partner to finance, build, and operate a project over a fixed term. Once that period lapses, the project is returned to the public entity that originally granted the concession.

Garafil said the building would have 150 charity beds for the UP-PGH area and 150 beds for the private area, 15 to 20 floors, 350 parking spaces, 1,000 square meter of commercial space, and an area for three linear accelerators bunkers.

“The hospital will provide a full range of cancer treatments, including radio oncology (radiotherapy), imaging, medical oncology, and support for the UP-PGH’s teaching and research activities,” Garafil said.

Under the project, the private partner will design, engineer, construct, and commission the entire new hospital structure, procure, maintain, and provide for the periodic replacement of medical and non-medical equipment. It will also maintain all non-clinical services for the entire hospital building, operate relevant commercial activities, provide clinical services to private-paying patients in the private area, and assume all associated costs of clinical manpower, drugs, and consumables.

UP-PGH will provide the building site at no cost, transfer existing equipment to the cancer institute and provide clinical services to non-paying charity patients. It will also shoulder all associated costs of clinical manpower, drugs, and consumables, and undertake clinical teaching and research.