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Are 'blacklisted' Chinese firms on board Duterte's infra projects?

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ABS-CBN News

<figure class="op-interactive"><div id="IVS_ABS_Body_Video_1_Container"> <ivs-player id="IVS_ABS_Body_Video_1" data-ivs-spid="3001339" data-ivs-key="e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603" data-ivs-vid="1454789" data-ivs-floating="1"></ivs-player> <script src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/js/iframe-parent.js"></script> <script src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/js/loader.js"></script> </div></figure>MANILA - Blacklisted or not, Chinese companies may bid in infrastructure projects under the Duterte administration&#x27;s ambitious &quot;build&quot; campaign as long as accredited by their government, a Philippine official said.This as government has set guidelines for bidding in the administration&#x27;s P8.4-trillion infrastructure push to &quot;ensure complete transparency and all these projects will be corruption-free,&quot; said Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) President and CEO Vince Dizon.&quot;So I don’t think we have to worry about that at all,&quot; he said in an interview with ANC&#x27;s Headstart.He did not comment on whether or not it is fair for observers to be suspicious of Chinese companies, but he maintained that the Duterte administration is bent on being transparent.&quot;For the portal that we launched, build.gov.ph,…everything is above board, everything is transparent. We’re not hiding anything. In fact, the bidding for these projects will be live, broadcast live [because] there’s nothing to hide,&quot; he said.&quot;All we want to do is make sure that we complete these projects at the fastest and soonest possible time for our people,&quot; he added.Asked about the possibility of China Communications Construction Company Ltd. (CCCC) bidding in the projects, Dizon said he does not know if the World Bank has indeed lifted its freeze order against the firm.The company&#x27;s debarment for alleged fraudulent practices was supposed to have expired earlier this year.&quot;I can’t speak for them, but if it has expired and depending on the final guidelines that are set, it’s up to the Chinese companies (to bid) because you have to understand that under the guidelines, the Chinese government will be the ones to accredit the companies that can participate,&quot; he said.This mechanism &quot;takes the onus from the Philippine government&quot; because it will be the Chinese government&#x27;s money that will be lent for the project anyway, he said.&quot;They will be the ones to say ‘okay, for this project, these three or five companies are accredited to bid.’ I cannot preempt what the Chinese government will do and who they will accredit,&quot; he said.The World Bank in 2011 debarred CCCC and its subsidiaries from participating in projects financed by the institution for alleged fraudulent practices by its subsidiary, China Road and Bridge Corp. (CRBC).CRBC was supposedly involved in the anomalous awarding of a contract under phase one of the Philippines’ National Roads Improvement and Management Project.The sanction was set to expire on January 12, 2017.CRBC and China Harbor Engineering Company, another subsidiary of CCCC, have initially signed up for feasibility studies on some infrastructure projects but have already withdrawn, Dizon said.&quot;Because of the guidelines that [were] set and agreed upon by both governments, those companies withdrew several months ago when the guidelines came up,&quot; he said in the interview, adding that the BCDA is now doing the feasibility study.Dizon said documents of the companies&#x27; withdrawal are uploaded on the website.BCDA is prioritizing the construction and completion of several infrastructure projects before Duterte&#x27;s term ends in 2022, including the new Clark International Airport passenger terminal, the first phase of the New Clark City, and the Subic-Clark cargo railway.

Blacklisted or not, Chinese companies may bid in infrastructure projects under the Duterte administration's ambitious "build" campaign as long as accredited by their government, a Philippine official said.

Blacklisted or not, Chinese companies may bid in infrastructure projects under the Duterte administration's ambitious "build" campaign as long as accredited by their government, a Philippine official said.