The growth of new project approvals of the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Board was less than 1 percent in 2018.
Based on the recently released 2018 Annual Report of Neda, there was a 0.96- percent growth in the amount of the new projects approved by the Neda Board to P974.03 billion in 2018, from P964.76 billion in 2017.
The total project approval of the Neda Board amounted to P1.33 trillion in 2018, including all projects with changes in cost, scope and design. This was a 34.47-percent increase from the P985.39 billion posted in 2017.
The largest new project approved by the Neda Board in 2018 was the unsolicited proposal for the Bulacan International Airport worth P735.63 billion.
The airport project proposed by San Miguel Corp. involves the construction, operation and maintenance of the New Manila International Airport in the company’s 2,500-hectare property in Bulakan, Bulacan.
The location of the proposed airport is a first-class municipality 35 kilometers north of Metro Manila and has a current population of 76,565 as of 2015.
Of the total land area, around 1,138 hectares will be allocated for the actual airport with a 100-hectare government center area and 1,132 hectares for other developments.
Apart from the Bulacan Airport, other big-ticket new project approvals of the Neda Board were the P50.03-billion Subic-Clark Railway Project; the P39.2-billion Ambal-Simuay River and Rio Grande de Mindanao River Flood Control and River Bank Protection Project; and the P33.1- billion Pasig-Marikina River Channel Improvement Project Phase IV.
In terms of the projects with changes approved in 2018, documents showed the largest project was North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) System Extension whose change in cost and scope increased the project cost to P628.42 billion.
The 53.1-kilometer (km) passenger railway will be financed by loans from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica). The project will be completed in five years but will be partially operational by 2022.
In May, the ADB Board approved a $2.75-billion-worth loan for the project, which will be used for the civil works that will cover six contracts. Jica will also extend a loan of $2 billion for the project.
Other big-ticket projects with changes approved last year were the P149.13-billion NSCR Phase 1; the P25.85-billion Davao City Bypass Construction Project, which was reevaluated by the Neda Board; and the Kaliwa Dam Project, which saw its cost increase to P12.2 billion.
The Neda Board is the highest policy-making body of the Neda, the country’s socioeconomic planning body. The Neda Board is chaired by the President, while the Neda secretary sits as vice chairman.
Neda is primarily responsible for formulating continuing, coordinated and fully integrated social and economic policies, plans and programs.
Under Executive 230 (Reorganizing the National Economic and Development Authority), the President may revise the membership of the Neda Board. With this, the membership of the Neda Board has been repeatedly amended through different administrations.