‘Build, Build, Build’‍ seen generating 200,000 direct jobs

With more flagship infrastructure under the ambitious “Build, Build, Build” program set for rollout, up to 200,000 direct jobs will be generated even as the pipeline could still expand beyond the current 100 projects, said Vivencio Dizon, presidential adviser for flagship programs and projects.Dizon said up to a million Filipinos would benefit from Build, Build, Build in terms of the indirect livelihood opportunities it would generate.

During the National Economic and Development Authority Investment Coordination Committee-Cabinet Committee (Neda ICC-CabCom) meeting last Dec. 20, the economic and infrastructure teams green-lighted P626.1 billion worth of projects that would start implementation in 2020.

Dizon said that despite a barrage in projects for implementation, there were enough construction workers who could build these big-ticket infrastructure.

“Right now I think we’re still OK, but there’s a move from the part of the Department of Labor and Employment—‘Balik-Manggagawa’—to try to bring back more of our workers who are abroad,” Dizon said, noting that overseas Filipino workers’ expertise in foreign infrastructure projects where they worked before would be useful in local projects moving forward.

Dizon claimed that Build, Build, Build would be a “fast creator” of jobs as “projects don’t end.”

“After a project ends, construction workers automatically get another job because the projects never end. The gestation period of these projects will be at least anywhere between three and seven years,” Dizon explained.

“Also, the infrastructure is being boosted further by private-sector investment because once they start seeing infrastructure, the private sector also invests. So it’s really a virtuous cycle of various multiplier effects throughout the economy,” Dizon added.

With more public-private partnerships included under the updated Build, Build, Build, Dizon said the current list of 100 projects could expand even further based on proposals coming from not only the implementing government agencies but also the private-sector proponents.

The 100 projects already approved by the Neda board chaired by President Duterte would all push through as these were deemed feasible, Dizon said.