The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) has approved 194 infrastructure flagship projects worth P9 trillion, Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said Thursday.
In a briefing in Malacanang, Balisacan said most of these projects are in physical connectivity and water resources, including irrigation, water supply, and flood management. The list also includes projects in digital connectivity, health, power and energy, agriculture, and other infrastructure
Some of the new projects on the list are the Panay Railway Project, Mindanao Railway Project III, North Long Haul Railway, San Mateo Railway, UP-PGH Diliman Project, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Rehabilitation Project, the Ilocos Sur Transbasin Project, and the Metro Cebu Expressway.
Balisacan said the projects are aligned with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s 8-Point Socioeconomic Agenda and the Philippine Development plan for 2023-2028.
“The new… [projects] are seen to address the binding constraints to business investment and expansion that will create more, high-quality, and resilient jobs that will allow us to meet our poverty-reduction goals for the medium term,” Balisacan said.
To hasten the rollout of these projects, the Marcos administration is strongly promoting the use of public-private partnerships or PPPs, one of the strategies identified in the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028.
“Forty-five of these infrastructure flagship projects are seen to be financed through partnerships with the private sector. The government shall harness the financial and technical resources of the private sector, which allows the public sector to allocate its funds for greater investments in human capital development, especially to address the scarring in health and education due to the pandemic and provide targeted assistance that protects vulnerable sectors from economic shocks,” Balisacan said.
The list of projects will be posted on the NEDA website and social media accounts.
Meanwhile, NEDA is expected to issue revised joint venture guidelines that were approved by its board.
The amendments aim to enhance competition for projects under joint ventures, ensure better performance of private-sector participants, and improve checks and balances to ensure that the project is technically and financially sound.
The amendments will also ensure that the guidelines are aligned with the provisions of the recently amended Build-Operate-Transfer or BOT Law Implementing Rules and Regulations and the proposed amendments to the BOT Law or PPP Act pending in Congress, but which are expected to be passed by this year.
“Recognizing that our country has much work to do to catch up with our dynamic neighbors in the region, we will pursue high-impactinitiatives that aim to encourage greater local and foreign investment and private-sector participation in infrastructure development,” Balisacan said.