THE Department of Information and Communications Technology signed a contract with TradeX Network, Inc. to develop the National Single Window system, the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center said.
In a statement on Dec. 19, the PPP said the deal covers the Integrated Trade Facilitation Platform project, which is structured as a public-private partnership.
“The project aims to facilitate trade by streamlining and digitizing processes for import, export, and international trade-related regulatory requirements,” the PPP Center said.
The project seeks to connect businesses engaged in trade to 77 government agencies involved in the permit-issuance process.
Phase 1 will initially onboard 11 agencies from the Department of Agriculture to help traders and farmers conduct their trade digitally.
“It opens the door for our traders. The mountain of paperwork becomes a single online form. Weeks of waiting become hours, or even minutes. Grit is now rewarded with speed, not frustration,” Information and Communications Technology Secretary Henry Rhoel R. Aguda said.
Mr. Aguda and TradeX Network, Inc. President Jason Cheng signed the contract on Dec. 19, in the presence of PPP Center Executive Director Rizza Blanco‑Latorre and Information and Communications Technology Undersecretary Faye Condez‑De Sagon.
The project will help traders minimize delays in trade, with farmers shipping perishable goods expected to benefit, Mr. Cheng said.
The single window is unsolicited, structured as a build-operate-transfer project and subject to the rules outlined by the PPP Code of the Philippines.
This was the first time for a national implementing agency to complete the awarding of a project under the PPP Code framework, the PPP Center said. — Aubrey Rose A. Inosante