Infrastructure spending up 18.1% in August

Public infrastructure spending jumped by almost a fifth to P40.1 billion in August as the government paid for completed roads as well as various flood control, health and school facilities.

The latest Department of Budget and Management (DBM) data showed that expenditures on infrastructure and other capital outlays increased 18.1 percent from P34 billion in August last year.

“The amount includes payments for completed infrastructure projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways (road improvement works, repair and rehabilitation, including flood control projects, construction/improvement of pumping stations, dike and drainage systems), capital outlay projects of the Department of Education (repair and rehabilitation of school facilities) and the Department of Health (land outlays for health facilities and purchase of hospital equipment),” the DBM said in a report.

Government spending on infrastructure in August, however, was 17.1-percent lower than the P48.4 billion in July.

From January to August, the government spent a total of P337.6 billion, up 11.9 percent from P301.7 billion in the same eight-month period last year.

Moving forward, “disbursements for the month of September are expected to be substantial owing to the huge infrastructure spending requirements of the DPWH,” the DBM said.

“The payment for the right-of-way claims for various DPWH projects, as well as the procurement for the respective modernization programs of the [military and police] are already ongoing following the release of their allotments in August this year,” the DBM added.