Spending on infrastructure jumped to P43.3 billion in January, such that Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno on Wednesday said it would help economic growth land within target in the first quarter.
The latest Department of Budget and Management data showed that expenditure on infrastructure and other capital outlays at the start of the year grew 25.2 percent from P34.5 billion in January last year.
In a report, the DBM attributed the increase to “completed projects by the Department of Public Works and Highways (such as construction of school buildings, flood control and mitigation projects, and ‘lahar’ control works in Central Luzon).”
Also, the higher infrastructure spending figure came on the back of communication equipment purchases under the Armed Forces of the Philippines modernization program being implemented by the Department of National Defense, the DBM added.
Moving forward, Diokno told reporters in a press conference that the ambitious infrastructure program was expected to further bolster spending in the coming months.
Under “Build, Build, Build,” the government plans to roll out 75 flagship projects, with about half targeted to be finished within President Duterte’s term, alongside spending a total of over P8 trillion on hard and modern infrastructure until 2022 to usher in the “golden age of infrastructure.”
The government aims to increase the share of infrastructure spending to gross domestic product to 6.1 percent this year, Diokno noted.
As the government embarks on massive infrastructure buildup, the GDP would have grown by at least 7 percent in the first quarter, Diokno said.
The government targets 7-8 percent GDP growth in 2018.
The first-quarter GDP figure will be released by the government in May./lb