Transportation and mobility projects totaling 73 in all and worth P3.84 trillion dominate the Philippine government’s revised list of infrastructure projects under the “Build, Build, Build” program.
The updated list now includes 100 projects with a total cost of P4.2 trillion from the previous 75 projects worth more than P8 trillion, which the government had promised to undertake in 2017. The new list also continues to evolve, with new projects of national and regional importance, especially in the Visayas and Mindanao, to be included later on.
Last November 6 the Investment Coordination Committee-Cabinet Committee (ICC-CC) and Committee on Infrastructure (INFRACOM) Cabinet Level approved the revised list, which was presented by Bases Conversion and Development Authority president and chief executive officer Vivencio Dizon, who is also presidential adviser for flagship programs and projects.
Aside from transportation and mobility, four other categories are part of the revised list: power and energy (P20 billion), water (P163.43 billion), urban development and renewal (P13.34 billion), and information and communications technology (P80.83 billion).
Of the 100 projects, 68 are new, with 32 coming from the previous list. Most that did not make it are bridges.
The listed projects will be funded through government funding, foreign loans and grants, or the private sector.
Of the total, 26 will be implemented through public-private partnerships (PPP). Dizon earlier claimed that the PPP projects during the past administration “failed to promote public interest,” and that PPP projects under the Duterte administration “should promote public interest” and “must be for the people.”
Projects in the transportation and mobility category include carry-over projects from the previous administration such as the NLEX-SLEX Connector Road, Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3, Bohol (Panglao) International Airport, C5 Southlink Expressway, Metro Rail Transport (MRT) 7, Manila Metro Line 1 Cavite Extension (aka LRT 1 Cavite Extension Project), Bicol (New Legaspi) International Airport, and Unified Grand Central Station (Common Station) project.
Also included in this category are Sangley Airport, Metro Manila Subway Project, Davao International Airport, Cebu Monorail System, Panay-Guimaras Negros Bridge, Samal Island-Davao City Connector Bridge, Subic-Clark Railway, New Manila International Airport, Ninoy Aquino International Airport rehabilitation, and Mindanao Rail Project.
The only project for maritime is the New Cebu International Container Port.
Furthermore, of the 73 transportation and mobility projects, 27 are already being implemented, nine in advanced stages of feasibility study; 18 in advanced stages of government approval, and 19 will commence construction in six to eight months.
In terms of financing, 16 projects are to be funded via general appropriations, 32 through ODA, and 25 (15 of which are unsolicited) through PPPs. The target completion dates for these undertakings range from 2020 up to 2028.
