The Philippines is looking to jump-start more infrastructure projects next year through facilities under the Project Monitoring Facilitation and Innovation (PMFI), such as the latest technical assistance loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Assistant Secretary Jonathan L. Uy recently told reporters the list of projects to be financed by the $100-million Infrastructure Preparation and Innovation Facility (IPIF) now covers 21 projects from the indicative list of 19 projects.
The list now includes eight road and bridge projects; six water projects; and six rail, public transport, port and airport projects.
“There are a lot of projects actually that we’re preparing, especially with the support of multilateral and bilateral donors,” Uy said. “We have a lot cooking right now, so hopefully this will move forward with the PMFI and be successfully implemented.”
The eight road and bridge projects now include the North Eastern Luzon Expressway Project; Laguna Lakeshore project; and the Nationwide island provinces link bridges to connect Leyte with Surigao and another one to link Sorsogon and Samar.
The list also includes the long span bridge to link the Panay-Guimaras-Negros Islands; Samal Island-Davao City connector bridge; Cebu-Negros Link bridge; and Bataan-Cavite bridge.
In terms of water projects, the list includes the Apayao-Abulug; Abra; Jalaur; Buayan-Malungon; Agus; and Tagum-Libangon river basins.
The transport projects include the Philippine National Railways South Commuter and Long Haul; Mindanao Railway, particularly the Tagum-Davao City-Digos segment; M’lang airport; New Cebu International Container Port; and the National Intelligent Transport Center.
Uy said the list includes the National Greenways and Non-Motorized Transport Development plan—the government’s overall program for green and more sustainable transport nationwide.
“The IPIF is a facility we hope to use in the feasibility assessment. Essentially feasibility studies will be done by the departments but the IPIF is supposed to provide further technical validation and improvement, particularly in your roll out implementation. It includes institutional capacity assessment,” Uy added.
In August the ADB said the total cost of the facility is $164.06 million, with the Philippine government contributing $64.06 million. The project is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2021.
The new loan, along with the recently approved $5-million technical assistance grant, serves as a catalyst for the government’s project management and monitoring system.
The list of projects that the facility can finance is about $3.8 billion. Initially, the loan for the facility is good for five years but the IPIF can receive additional loans from the ADB, depending on the implementation of the projects and the need for additional resources by the national government.
Also, while the facility is still limited to financing projects from the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Department of Transportation, the facility can later on be used for other projects, such as those for agriculture, health and education.
The government’s infrastructure investments in national roads, railways, bridges, flood control, ports and airports will add as much as $10 billion to the country’s GDP between 2019 and 2024.
The ADB said the “Build, Build, Build” program, the centerpiece of President Duterte’s 10-point Socioeconomic Agenda, aims to increase public investment and accelerate infrastructure delivery. Public spending on infrastructure is expected to reach 7.4 percent of GDP by 2022, up from 5.3 percent in 2017 and less than 3 percent from 2010-2016.
Image credits: Nonie Reyes