PPP Authority: No theme park in works - Caribbean Business - 27/08/09

Government Development Bank President Carlos García, who chairs the newly created Public-Private Partnership Authority (PPPA), refuted a claim that the thousands of families living at the Luis Llorens Torres public housing project may be moved to make way for an amusement park. Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) Secretary General Juan Dalmau charged Tuesday that the Fortuño administration must acknowledge whether it is talks to raze the Caribbean’s largest public housing and build the region’s biggest theme park through a PPP. “It’s unfortunate that Mr. Dalmau made such irresponsible and unfounded expressions which only create concern and anxiety for Puerto Rican families. The PPPA board of directors has the responsibility to build a better Puerto Rico in a structured way, always having in mind Puerto Rico’s behalf. At all times we have provided information in a transparent way since the Aug. 10 launch of the PPPA website, http://www.app.gobierno.pr/, where there is complete and updated information on all PPP projects in Puerto Rico,” García said. The website is the medium by which issues related to the PPPs are being made public: potential projects, feasibility and convenience studies, request for qualifications and requests for proposals, as well as final decisions on the granting of contracts. “We should not use other publications or news with respect to projects that the PPPA board of directors will later analyze and consider as potential projects. Currently, in the ‘Projects” section of our website you’ll find a list of projects being filed by various government entities to be considered as potential projects. Nevertheless, these published projects do not constitute the official inventory of PPP projects, which means these are still waiting for the evaluation process established by law for the final determination of such inventory and the eventual structuring of PPP projects. The commitments the PPPA board of directors has made to Puerto Rico need to be taken seriously, always having in mind the reconstruction of our economy and the well-being of all Puerto Ricans,” García concluded. [Earlier posting false. Open this link for full, accurate report.]