Work on big-ticket infra projects resumes

With the lockdown in Luzon and other parts of the country being gradually eased, the government has resumed work on a number of big-ticket infrastructure projects, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said Monday.

Dominguez said among the flagship infrastructure projects where work restarted during the general community quarantine (GCQ) included the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx)-Harbor Link; Cavite Expressway; Subic Freeport Expressway; Bonifacio Global City (BGC)-Ortigas Link Bridge; Cavite-Laguna Expressway and Abusag Bridge in Cagayan, among others.

“Prior to the complete resumption of operations, note that the concessionaires, contractors, sub-contractors and suppliers are expected to comply with the necessary requirements that include testing, welfare facilities and amenities ensuring strict compliance to health and safety protocols,” Dominguez said.

Dominguez said the Duterte administration’s ambitious “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure program created around five million jobs from 2016 to 2019.

This year, an additional 1.5 million jobs are expected to be generated by “Build, Build, Build,” Dominguez added.

While the Economic Development Cluster reviewed which projects would be retained in the “Build, Build, Build” pipeline, Dominguez said large flagship projects would still be implemented.

Last week, Acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua said that amid a less-restrictive GCQ, the government would “restart the most impactful ‘Build, Build, Build’ projects” that would generate more jobs. —Ben O. de Vera INQ