The government is set to adopt the Philippine Transportation System Master Plan, which will address the need to unify transport-related plans in the country sometime in November.
National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Undersecretary Rolando G. Tungpalan said the transport blueprint is a concrete list of transport projects that will be implemented throughout the Philippines.
“This is a master plan,” he said on the sidelines of a forum hosted by the Italian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines on Monday. “This will be up by November.”
In crafting this transport master plan, the Neda engaged three consulting firms—Transport and Traffic Planners Inc., Philkoei International Inc. and Test Consultants Inc.—for the conduct of regional consultations, workshops and secondary data analysis.
It was first introduced on August 15, and a month after, a policy was adopted to fully implement the master plan.
According to the Neda’s web site, the plan is “anchored on the “National Transport Policy, which aims to synchronize decisions and investments of all transport-related agencies and coordinate effectively such efforts between the national and local levels.”
The plan, according to the brief, will complement the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022 in “sustaining economic growth and increasing competitiveness by providing adequate, accessible, reliable and safe access for people and goods across the country, neighboring regions and the world.”
Among the secondary data gathered were from the Roadmap for Transport Infrastructure Development for Metro Manila and its surrounding areas (Regions 3 and 4A), the study on Masterplan on High Standard Highway Network Development in the Republic of the Philippines, the Roadmap Study for Sustainable Urban Development in Metro Cebu, Urban Transport Masterplan Study for Metro Cebu and Masterplan Study on Strategy for the Improvement of National Airports in the Republic of the Philippines.
The government consulted representatives from local government units, private sector, Infrastructure Development Committee agencies and other regional line agencies in crafting the said plan.
According to the Neda, the consultation generated “prioritized transport-related projects in the region that can be considered in the masterplan.
Succeeding activities of the project are scheduled for 2019.