NEDA chief Arsenio Balisacan (Photo from the NEDA Facebook page)
MANILA, Philippines Following the government’s approval of seven high-impact projects, about 206 big-ticket projects, worth $159 billion, are being studied and could be up for approval from the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) board, chaired by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Presidential Communications Secretary Cheloy Velicaria-Garafil said the NEDA would come up with a final list of major projects under the Marcos administration at the end of the first quarter of this year.
Garafil did not specify the projects, but Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan in January identified the sectors the projects would address.
“These now totals to 206 projects, worth $159 billion, and they are in various sectors, like 136 of those are physical connectivity, nine are on digital connectivity, 42 on water resources, eight on health, two on power and energy, and nine others,” Balisacan said.
According to him, many of these projects will likely be undertaken through a public-private partnership (PPP).
“We have started compiling all these potential infrastructure projects. We will beef up, and within this quarter we’ll be releasing what we are calling the Public Investment Program for 2023-2028 as well as the three-year rolling infrastructure program for 2024 to 2026,” he said.
Flagship projects
In a press briefing on Saturday, Neda Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon said the agency has been “vetting a long list of projects,” which would be funded through various schemes, such as PPP, grants, and government allocation.
“So far, about 206 are on the list now. And that’s just for what we call the flagship [projects]. That could still be trimmed down, we are looking at their viability, the benefits versus the cost, of course,” Edillon told reporters.
“We hope to come up with a final list by the end of this quarter, this first quarter,” she said, adding that the government was eyeing 3,000 projects until 2028. The list, she said, would be uploaded on the Neda website by the end of this year’s first quarter.
The government will study which projects could be funded through PPP, according to Edillon.
“We will see if it can be designed as a PPP, meaning a project that the private sector will find to be profitable, viable as a commercial endeavor, commercial operations, so that government resources can also be freed up,” he said.
1st PPP project
On Thursday, Malacañang announced the Neda board’s approval of the University of the Philippines (UP)-Philippine General Hospital (PGH) Cancer Center, the first PPP project under the Marcos administration.
On Friday, Balisacan said the Neda board approved seven high-impact projects, including the P6-billion UP-PGH Cancer Center.
Balisacan said these projects would “significantly contribute to achieving our social and economic transformation goal in the medium-term.”
The other approved projects are the P20-billion integrated flood resilience project of the Department of Public Works and Highways, the utilization of the P2.12-billion loan balance from the Japan International Cooperation Agency for the Communications, Navigation and Surveillance Systems for Air Traffic Management maintenance and resiliency enhancement, and the development of the new Dumaguete airport, which will replace the Dumaguete-Sibulan airport.
Also included in the projects are the Department of Agriculture’s Mindanao Inclusive Agriculture Development Project, the increase in the cost of the MRT-3 Rehabilitation Project from P21.9 billion to P29.6 billion, and the Davao Transport Modernization Project.