THE National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) board is set to approve a revised plan for the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) cancer center next week, addressing changes in project cost and parameters, the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center said Thursday.
“The thing with cancer center is since it was the first approved (PPP project) under the Marcos administration, some of the assumptions were set in the pre-pandemic (period)” PPP Executive Director Ma. Cynthia C. Hernandez told reporters on the sidelines of a luncheon organized by the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines.
The NEDA Board, which is chaired by President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., initially greenlit the project on Feb. 2, 2023.
However, the cost for the 300-bed cancer center was raised to P9.4 billion from P6 billion. This includes the financing, design, engineering, construction, operation, and maintenance of the hospital.
“When they were drafting the detailed terms and conditions, I think PGH realized that they need to substantially upgrade the standards, especially they want it to be world class. So there were adjustments to the project cost which necessitated another round of NEDA (Board) approvals,” Ms. Hernandez said. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz
