THE Duterte administration, through the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Board, has approved less than half of the projects comprising its intended infrastructure spending in the medium term.
Data on Neda Board approvals between 2016 and 2019, including those approved in the last Neda Board meeting in November 29, reached only P2.679 trillion.
This is less than half the P7.74 trillion the administration intended to spend for infrastructure between 2016 and 2022 under the Public Investment Program (PIP) for 2017 to 2022.
“We’ll rally during these last 2.5 years to achieve targets. We’re roughly on track,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia told BusinessMirror via SMS on Thursday.
Spending over P7 trillion for infrastructure in the medium term will not only help address the country’s infrastructure constraints but will usher in a “Golden Age of Infrastructure,” officials have said.
Based on the Neda Board approvals data, the largest project approved in the first three years of the administration is the P735.63-billion Unsolicited Proposal for the Bulacan International Airport Project.
The project consists of airport development (including passenger terminal building, airside and landside facilities), and an 8.4-kilometer tollway to serve as airport access connecting to North Luzon Expressway at Marilao, Bulacan.
Another major project approved during the period is the P356.97 billion Metro Manila Subway Project (MMSP) Phase 1, the first of its kind in the Philippines.
The project is a 25.3-kilometer subway, to run from Mindanao Avenue in Quezon City to FTI in Taguig then to NAIA.
Based on the PIP, around 5,636 projects and programs (PAPs) are going to be undertaken by the Duterte administration. Of the total, around 4,490 are dedicated to accelerate the country’s infrastructure development.
“A target’s bullseye is never so easy to hit,” Pernia said.
In 2016, the Duterte administration’s push to usher the country into its hyped “golden age of infrastructure” will see a funding of around P8 trillion, or an annual average infrastructure spending of roughly P1.33 trillion beginning next year.
And to ensure the money will be allocated on a timely manner, the Neda will no longer wait for concerned agencies to submit their proposals.
With this, the Neda’s Infrastructure Committee and the Investment Coordination Committee will all propose infrastructure projects needed to meet the goals.
The projects will be contained in the PIP, the country’s medium-term investment blueprint.
Image credits: Nonie Reyes