‘Infra buildup program seen completed in 6 years’

THE Department of Budget and Management is confident about completing all 75 big infrastructure projects by the time President Duterte completes his term in 2022 with the approval of all 75 projects by the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) board.

According to Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno, the government has moved quickly in terms of getting infrastructure projects completed so that the benefits will be felt by Filipinos as early as possible and to further spur the country’s economic growth.

“It takes about a year and half before any project takes off. It depends on the administration, so we are actually much ahead compared to the others. These are big projects that have  been approved by [the] Neda and signed by the President, this shows how fast we work,” Diokno told financial reporters at the sidelines of the “Rethinking Infrastructure Building” Forum at the Alphaland City Club in Makati City on Thursday.

The Budget chief said,  at present, the Neda board already approved around 61 infrastructure projects, with the government targeting to complete 75 more projects in total within the term of Duterte.

But the Mega Manila subway project, with a budget cost of P227 billion to be implemented by the Department of Transportation, was seen as the only project to be completed in 2024, with the feasibility study being conducted already by the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

The Mega Manila Subway project is a 25-kilometer underground mass-transportation system connecting major business districts and is expected to serve around 370,000 passengers per day in its opening year.

“[The 75 projects] it will be completed within the President’s term, except the subway because it will reach about 2024 before it gets completed. We will have to finish because the President does not like to start a project and just leave it hanging. That is why we try to hasten the process,” he added.

The projects will be funded by a combination of official development assistance  with investment aid raked in from Japan and China totaling $33 billion, and government funds from the general appropriations act. This forms the government’s hybrid financing scheme.

“Before the end of the year, since [the] Neda works fast, we meet every month,” Diokno said.

The government has programmed an infrastructure budget of P1 trillion in 2018, which was explained to be 5.8 percent of the country’s GDP. 

The priority projects that will take up the infrastructure budget has yet to be determined, but Diokno pointed out that countries willing to provide funding can vet for the projects that they deem should be prioritized.

“We are still negotiating, but we have identified more or less who will build it. We are going to ask both Japan and China to vet for their top 3 projects, and we [the Philippine government] will choose,” he added. 

source:  Business Mirror