When promoting private participation in public construction projects, the government must strike a three-way balance that allows the private sector to make reasonable profits, provides citizens with good service, and justifies the government's handling of the projects, Premier Mao Chi-kuo said at today's Cabinet meeting.
The premier pointed out that the government can set targets for public-private infrastructure partnerships, but aiming too high could backfire as there may not be enough suitable cases every year for the private sector to take part.
"If we promote build-operate-transfer (BOT) projects just for the sake of promoting BOT, or if we overestimate revenues and underestimate costs, we will encounter implementation difficulties down the line."
In a small number of cases, problems with implementation have drawn public concern over infrastructure projects of this nature, the premier continued. He requested the MOF to review relevant mechanisms, share experiences with local authorities on system improvements, and enhance communication with the public to enable the smooth implementation of the projects.
According to the Ministry of Finance, the government in the first half of 2015 signed agreements with the private sector for NT$48.6 billion (US$1.56 billion) worth of infrastructure projects, and is expected to sign NT$80 billion (US$2.57 billion) for the whole year. From 2002 to June 2015, the government signed a total of 1,272 such agreements valued at NT$1.09 trillion (US$35.04 billion) combined. During the terms of these agreements, public expenditures will fall by NT$935.1 billion (US$30.06 billion), public revenues will increase by NT$684.9 billion (US$22.02 billion), and over 180,000 jobs will be created.