23 infra projects hurdle approval process

The Duterte administration already approved for rollout almost a third of the flagship infrastructure projects under its ambitious “Build, Build, Build” program, with more expected to be green-lighted this year, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said.

“Of the 75 high-impact and big-ticket projects we have identified, 23 projects have completed the approvals process and are now shovel-ready,” Dominguez told his fellow Asean finance ministers at a forum in Singapore last week.

“We expect the rest of the projects to pass the approvals process this year,” Dominguez added.

To further fast-track the approval of infrastructure projects, Dominguez said the Department of Finance and the state planing agency National Economic and Development Authority were finalizing guidelines for the implementation of a “three-in-one process.”

In this process, the Neda Board approval, the forward obligational authority and the special presidential authority are issued all at once, Dominguez explained.

The finance chief also noted the improvements in right-of-way acquisition and land resettlement.

“We have improved institutional arrangements such as designating the Department of Budget and Management as the procurement agent. We have advanced budget allocation for government’s counterpart commitments and established project monitoring offices to closely observe the completion of projects,” he said.

Under “Build, Build, Build,” the government plans to roll out 75 “game-changing” projects, with about half targeted to be finished within President Duterte’s term, alongside spending more than P8 trillion on hard and modern infrastructure until 2022 in a bid to usher in the “golden age of infrastructure.”

“The ‘Build, Build, Build’ program maps out our key infrastructure investments for optimal impact on our economic growth. The 75 strategic infrastructure projects included in this program are designed to increase the productive capacity of the economy, create jobs, increase incomes and make the economy more attractive to investment flows. This program, we believe, opens the path to sustained and inclusive economic growth,” Dominguez said.

The finance chief noted that the infrastructure spending to gross domestic product ratio increased to 5.4 percent last year from only 2.9 percent in 2016, with a higher 6.3 percent programmed under this year’s national budget.

The government aims to further raise the share of infrastructure to GDP to 7.3 percent by 2022.

“In the Philippines, the infrastructure program is at the core of our strategy for rapid and inclusive growth. With the highest multiplier effects, investments in infrastructure enable us to stimulate economic expansion. Since the Philippines is an archipelago, investments in infrastructure enable us to build an efficient logistics backbone that addresses the problem of stranded island communities and inaccessible farming areas,” Dominguez said.

“Over the next five years, we expect to invest about $170 billion in providing better infrastructure projects for our economy and our people. Our foremost consideration is improving transport facilities that will make movement of goods and people more efficient. We are building several railway lines, a subway system for the Manila area, and new roads that will serve as growth corridors for key areas of the country,” he added.