By Elaine Ramos Alanguilan

The BOT Center is marketing 16 infrastructure projects that include a sewage treatment and an integrated port and ferry system project for private funding under the build-operate-transfer scheme.

BOT Center executive director Pascual de Guzman, executive told reporters that tourist destination Peurto Galera needed the $1.5-million sewage treatment project while the integrated port development and ferry project would link Southern Luzon to Northern Samar.

Included in the list are 14 other projects involving farm-to-market roads, market slaughterhouse and transport terminals that have a combined cost of P100 million.

De Guzman said the agency was focusing on projects that would provide water and power to underserved areas in the country.

He said the projects were smaller in scale compared with those handled by the National Economic and Development Authority. The projects are mostly located in provinces, where the local government units have no expertise in developing such infrastructure.

The Northern Samar integrated port and ferry system project involves the redevelopment of the Matnog port to provide an alternative hub for commercial vessels plying the Bicol-Samar route.

De Guzman said the integrated port and ferry system project was still in the planning stages and that the cost had yet to be determined.

He said Samar Rep. Paul Daza had made representations with the center to market the project and develop it into an industrial zone similar to the Subic Bay Freeport. The project includes the development of access roads.

?In this case, we could tie up packaging of the project with investment promotions to encourage industries to locate there and make the port more viable,? said Daza.

Matnog has an existing private port in Matnog used mostly by the military.