Role of Government in Project Implementation

a)        Zoning, subdivision and building regulations

The NEDA PIP and DBM guidelines have clearly stipulated the specific parameters in the formulation and preparation of project proposal to be submitted for funding. Zoning, subdivision and building regulations are necessary considerations in the sense that projects should be properly located. Projects should be consistent with the PDP, RDP, Provincial Physical Framework Plan and Comprehensive Land Use Plan and should be in consonance with the vision of the area. These should avoid also hazard areas and the location should guarantee opportunity for expansion and sustainability as mentioned in the guidelines.

With regard to subdivision and building regulations, these should be strategically located. Hazard areas should be avoided. Important social provisions and support infrastructures should also be considered like water, electricity, drainage system and accessibility to road networks should be considered. If these will not be considered, the project proposal might not pass the project appraisal that will be conducted by the NEDA Board.

b)        Development permits and licenses

Regarding development permits and licenses, these are necessary considerations prior to project implementation. Acquiring permits and licenses are the mark of readily implementable projects. These are the guarantees that the project is socially acceptable, economically viable and environmentally sustainable. If these will not be secured, a project will be definitely not approved. With regard to land use regulation, securing locational clearance or zoning certification is a prerequisite to securing building permit. This is to ensure that the project is consistent with the zoning ordinance and land use regulations. One important clearance that must be secured is the environmental compliance certificate from the DENR. This is to ensure that the project will not pose any environmental threat or destruction.

c)        Public works programming and capital budgeting

Project programming and budgeting are usually the hindrance to the realization of everything that the land use plan set to envision. Found in the land use plans are ambitious huge projects which the local government units do not have the technical and financial capacities to implement. It is good that national government provided avenues for fund accessing, essentially, through public-private partnership.

For the proponent to access this fund, it is important that the proposal should carefully observed specifications and guidelines. Based on the DBM-NEDA Joint Circular 2016-1, the project should contribute to identified gaps to achieve development targets and should observed programmatic approach, spatial/geographical context, and priority areas for increased spending.

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All About Public-Private Partnership

1.      What is a PPP?

PPP is a mode of project implementation where the government enters into a long-term partnership with private entities to fund, undertake and deliver public services and accelerate infrastructure development while at the same ensuring reasonable profit for the latter’s investment. Its success depends on the terms and conditions for ensuring quality and quantity of the project as well as risk-sharing.

2.      On funding and implementation strategies. How government projects are normally financed and implemented?

THREE (3) BASIC MODALITIES

Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) and Variants

·         TRANSFER IMMEDIATELY

1.         Build and Transfer (BT)

2.         Build-Transfer-and-Operate (BTO)

·         TRANSFER AFTER COOPN PERIOD

1.         Build-Lease-and-Transfer (BLT)

2.         Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT)

3.         Contract-Add-and-Operate (CAO)

4.         Develop-Operate-and-Transfer (DOT)

5.         Rehabilitate-Operate-and-Transfer (ROT)

·         NO TRANSFER

1.         Build-Own-and-Operate (BOO)

2.         Rehabilitate-Own-and-Operate (ROO)

3.         Other variations: approved by the President

4.         Joint Ventures (JVs)

5.         Concession Agreement

3.      Based on your basic understanding on PPP as a tool for project implementation. Who are the normal Implementing/ Procuring Agencies for PPP projects?

·           National Government Agency

·           Government-owned and Controlled Corporation

·           Government Financial Institution

·           Local Government Units

·           Partnerships: PPP/BOT or JV

·           Private Investors

4.      Based on your understanding, why pursue PPPs in urban plan implementation?

·         To deliver basic public services which require big financing cost

·         To accelerate infrastructure development in the country

·         To encourage private sector participation in the economic development of the country.

5.      Based on your understanding, who normally pays for PPP projects?

      Sources of Funding for PPP Projects

·         Commercial loans

·         Foreign investment

·         Investment bank

·         Bonds and stocks may be floated by LGU

·         Mutual funds

·         Interpersonal loans

·         Supporting resources

·         ODA – Official Development Assistance (grant or loan)

6.      Enumerated are the normal possible projects under PPP for your easy understanding and guidelines. In your own words, explain each type and please limit answer to a paragraph for each type:

      A. Hard Projects – are physical infrastructure projects like the following:

·           Highways, including expressways, roads, bridges, interchanges, tunnels, and related facilities;

·           Railways or rail-based projects that may or may not be packaged with commercial development opportunities;

·           Non-rail based mass transit facilities, navigable inland waterways and related facilities;

·           Port infrastructures like piers, wharves, quays, storage, handling, ferry services and related facilities;

·           Airports, air navigation, and related facilities;

·           Power generation, transmission, sub-transmission, distribution, and related facilities;

·           Telecommunications, backbone network, terrestrial and satellite facilities and related service facilities;

·           Information technology (IT) and data base infrastructure, including modernization of IT, geo-spatial resource mapping and cadastral survey for resource accounting and planning;

·           Irrigation and related facilities;

·           Water supply, sewerage, drainage, and related facilities;

·           Education and health infrastructure;

·           Land reclamation, dredging and other related development facilities;

·           Industrial and tourism estates or townships, including ecotourism projects such as terrestrial and coastal/marine nature parks, among others and related infrastructure facilities and utilities;

      B. Soft Projects – are physical projects that are necessary in the delivery of services like health, education etc. Under PPP, these include the following:

·         Government buildings, housing projects;

·         Markets, slaughterhouses, and related facilities;

·         Warehouses and post-harvest facilities;

·         Public fishports and fishponds, including storage and processing facilities;

·         Environmental and solid waste management related facilities such as, but not limited to, collection equipment, composting plants, landfill and tidal barriers, among others; and

·         Climate change mitigation and adaptation infrastructure projects and related facilities.

      C. Bundling – is a combination or a package of soft and hard projects. For example, reclamation project which is a hard project combined with a soft project like socialized housing.

7.In your own understanding from all the readings I sent on PPP as a major tool for urban plan implementation, what influence the determination of the usual contract life for a PPP project?

The contract life of a PPP project depends on the ability of the project proponent to recover its investment and maintenance and operating expenses which can be raised by collecting tolls, fees, rentals or other charges from facility users.

8.      Enumerated are the typical risks in PPP. In your own word, explain each risk (Note: please limit answer to a paragraph for each risk):

A.            Policy and Political

Change in political landscape or change in leadership may mean policy changes as well. Risks in this area may involve government not honoring contracts. Worst case scenario is when the government nationalizes or expropriate the project for whatever reason.

B.             Economic and Fiscal

Currency and interest rates pose a threat to PPP projects. Weakening of the currency and the increase in interest rates mean an adjustment to the financial obligation of the implementing agency.

C.             Legal and Procedures

Change in law or force majeure may threaten the enforcement of the provisions of the contract.

D.            Environmental and Spatial

Complying with the environmental and spatial regulations may mean additional cost to the project especially that during the implementation stage, the IA is required to prepare and implement the environmental management plan.

9.      In Urban Plan Implementation using PPP as a tool, how are risks spread between parties?

Normally, risk is allocated to parties that has the most capacity to cope up, control and mitigate it. In so far as legislation and government policies are concerned, it is the government that take risks. For project’s operation, it is the private sector. At the start of project implementation, risks allocation should be clearly emphasized in the contract. If risk allocation is not clearly defined, a conflict might arise later.

10.  How are risks assessed in terms of certainty and impact based on a) Likelihood and b) Significance?

Risks are assessed based on the following areas including market, technical, financial, economic, distributional analyses. There specific matrices being used to determine the certainly and impact of risks.

Principles of Urban Design

1.       Design for All

Urban design should involve people, local communities and those likely to move in

2.       Create places for people

For places to be well-used and well-loved, they must be safe, comfortable, varied and attractive. Vibrant places offers opportunities for meeting people.

3.       Conserve heritage

New developments should conserve monuments, groups of buildings, or sites of cultural importance and natural features.

4.       Enrich the existing

New developments should enrich and complement existing places.

5.       Make connections

Places need to be accessible and integrated with their surroundings.

6.       Work with nature

Places must balance the nature and the man-made environment

7.       Mix uses and forms

Stimulating enjoyable and convenient places

8.       Manage the investment

For projects to be well cared of, they must be economically viable, well managed and maintained

9.       Design for change

New developments needs to be flexible enough to respond to future changes in use.

Reference: Site and Area Planning Development(ppt.) prepared by Arch/EnP. Kurt A. Capate

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Green Growth

The following is the step by step process by which we can integrate green growth in the development plan, as follows:

Step 1 – Getting Organized

Consider Biodiversity Integration Activities Resource Inventory/Mapping Management Planning

Step 2 – Identifying Stakeholder

Include PAMB and other local Stakeholders; LEIPO, DTI, Business Membership Org./Industry Asso.

Step 3 – Setting the Vision

Consider as one of the Vision Elements and Descriptors

Step 4 – Analyzing the Situation

What are the issues and concerns that needs to be addressed (to be incorporated in analysis matrix)

Know your Protected Areas and Critical Habitats/biodiversity; summary report/profile of key sectoral/thematic areas :
- socio-economic
-demographic
-income
-production
-land use resource conditions
-ecological/environmental
-settlements

Step 5 – Setting the Goals and Objectives

Health and safe communities

Food Security

Well manage and sustainable use of land and its resources and access to all infrastructure services

A convenient, equitable, healthful, attractive environment and disaster resilient communities

Good governance

Step 6 – Establishing Development Thrust and Spatial Strategies

Siting/locating agriculture and forest production areas; the development of infrastructure, settlements and other uses like industries, commercial areas are important for sustainable environmental growth and development. Sectoral development activities should be aligned with biodiversity conservation concerns and other spatial strategies. 

Two concerns under CLUP Step 6 :

Sectoral economic development thrusts, and Spatial development strategies as basis for land use planning

Structural map from this step contains the general location of development areas, conservation areas influencing the proposed major infrastructure projects as indicated by the:  direction of urban expansion  proposed circulation system and growth areas/nodes

Step 7 - Preparing the Land Use Plan:  Determining the location and extent of PA/KBA/CH,  MPA and critical watersheds; the economic development

The land use plan is the major interpretation of the agreed vision, goals and objectives, development thrust, and spatial strategies. 

The proposed land use map should contain the location and extent of the delineated PA/KBA and critical watersheds and MPAs.

- a map reflects the location/extent of the economic development/s
- Green growth strategies and policies
- List of green growth programs and projects towards sustainable economic growth

Source:
Estur, Zenaida, Presentation & Discussion on Basic Concepts & Principles-Orientation on the Enhanced CLUP Guidebooks ppt., 2016

Demographic Study

Relevance of Demographic Studies in Land Use Planning

       The center of all our planning effort is the people. We are much concerned about their various current and future needs. These growing needs for goods and services spell the need to determine specific and sufficient spaces for land and their efficient uses for the people to experience quality of life. One must also understand that it is the people that cause environmental and land use issues and problems. It is also the people that have the capacity to manage the resources.

       To ensure that this demand for land will be efficiently addressed, it is important that demographics should be carefully studied, specifically, the current figures, the characteristics or attributes of the population of a particular area, its growth and movement or trend, as these shape land uses encompassing years and decades.

       To come up with various alternatives and decisions in land use planning, knowledge about the demographics by the planners and the community will be most useful.

Population Projection

       Population projection is necessary to determine the trend in increase of population in the coming years, say five or ten years or more. This is important so as to determine the corresponding increase in demand for economic goods, social services, infrastructures support and land for various uses. With these calculations, planners and the decision-makers will be able to make some assumptions as to what will be the issues and concerns that would crop up in the future and as early as today prevent such future problems. These will also help them assess as to how much resources or fund should be raised to efficiently address such future needs. In other words, population projection helps planners and the decision makers come up with a solution before the arrival of a problem.

Two methods for Projecting Future Population

          There are different methods of projecting future population. However, the HLURB CLUP Guide suggests the combined use of Geometric and Participation Rate methods as discussed below:

a. Geometric Method is a computation of three factors including the base population, time interval and population after the given time interval using the formula, Pn = Po (1+r)t where Po = base population of an area, Pn = population of the area t years later, t = time interval in calendar year between Po and Pn , and r = growth rate of population per unit time. To compute growth rate, the formula can be rewritten into, r =( ln [Po / Pn]) / t.

b. Participation Rate Method uses ratio or percent share of a population segment of population to total population as indicated on the sample formula, Participation Rate of working group = Population of 15-64 y. o. / Total Population

Source: CLUP Guidebook Volume 2, 2014, p.183

Different Ways to Visualize Spatial Data

Choosing the right type of visualisation depends on one needs to show (comparison, distribution, composition, or relationship), how much detail the audience needs, and what information the audience needs in order to be successful.

Although the amount of data visualisation options may feel overwhelming, whichever one will choose will be much more comprehensible than raw numbers alone.

2D Area

2D area types of data visualisation are usually geospatial, meaning that they relate to the relative position of things on the earth’s surface.

1. Cartogram: A cartogram distorts the geometry or space of a map to convey the information of an alternative variable, such as population or travel time. The two main types are area and distance cartograms.

2. Choropleth: A choropleth is a map with areas patterned or shaded to represent the measurement of a statistical variable, such as most visited website per country or population density by state.

3.  Dot Distribution Map: A dot distribution or dot density map uses a dot symbol to show the presence of a feature on a map, relying on visual scatter to show spatial pattern.

Temporal

Temporal visualisations are similar to one-dimensional linear visualisations, but differ because they have a start and finish time and items that may overlap each other.

4. Connected Scatter Plot: A connected scatter plot is a scatter plot, a plot that displays values of two variables for a set of data, with an added line that connects the data series.

5. Polar Area Diagram: A polar area diagram is similar to a traditional pie chart, but sectors differ in how far they extend from the center of the circle rather than by the size of their angles.

6. Time Series: A time series is a sequence of data points typically consisting of successive measurements made over a time interval, such as the number of website visits over a period of several months.

Multidimensional

Multidimensional data elements are those with two or more dimensions. This category is home to many of the most common types of data visualisation.

7. Pie Chart: A pie or circle chart is divided into sectors to illustrate numerical proportion; the arc length and angle of each sector is proportional to the quantity it represents.

8. Histogram: A histogram is a data visualisation that uses rectangles with heights proportional to the count and widths equal to the “bin size” or range of small intervals.

9. Scatter Plot: A scatter plot displays values for two variables for a set of data as a collection of points.

Hierarchical

Hierarchical data sets are orderings of groups in which larger groups encompass sets of smaller groups.

10. Dendrogram: A dendrogram is a tree diagram used to illustrate an arrangement of clusters produced by hierarchical clustering. 

11. Ring Chart: A ring or sunburst chart is a multilevel pie chart that visualises hierarchical data with concentric circles.

12. Tree Diagram: A tree diagram or tree structure represents the hierarchical nature of a structure in graph form. It can be visually represented from top to bottom or left to right.

 Network

Network data visualisations show how data sets are related to one another within a network. 

13. Alluvial Diagram: An alluvial diagram is a type of flow diagram that represents changes in network structure over time.

 14. Node-Link Diagram: A node-link diagram represents nodes as dots and links as line segments to show how a data set is connected.

15. Matrix: A matrix chart or diagram shows the relationship between two, three, or four groups of information and gives information about said relationship.

Reference: 15 Most Common Types of Data Visualization accessed at https://info.datalabsagency.com/blog/data-visualization-news/15-most-common-types-of-data-visualisation