Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 9) — The policy-making National Economic and Development Authority Board approved a total of 194 priority infrastructure projects worth about ₱9 trillion.
During a Palace briefing on Thursday, NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said 123 projects are “new and initiated” in the Marcos administration.
Majority of the projects are in physical connectivity and water resources, including irrigation, water supply, and flood management.
Projects in digital connectivity, health, power, and agriculture would also be prioritized, Balisacan said.
Among new projects on the list are:
—Panay Railway
— Mindanao Railway III
— North Long Haul Railway
— San Mateo Railway
— UP-PGH Diliman
— NAIA or Ninoy Aquino International Airport rehabilitation
— Ilocos Sur Transbasin
— Metro Cebu Expressway
Balisacan said the projects would be financed through official development assistance, national government, and public-private partnerships (PPP).
“To hasten the rollout of these projects, the Marcos administration is strongly promoting the utilization of public-private partnerships or PPPs, one of the cross-cutting strategies likewise identified in the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028,” he said, noting that 45 projects have been identified for PPPs.
The list of big-ticket projects, the NEDA chief said, is seen as “a giant step” toward the current administration’s target of positioning the Philippines as “a prime investment destination in the region.”
“These infrastructure projects, especially once they are rolled out, will boost employment opportunities because there will be massive construction activities… It will improve the investment climate of the country. Those will create jobs,” he said.
Balisacan said the NEDA Board, chaired by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., also approved amendments to the 2013 NEDA Joint Venture Guidelines, aimed at “enhancing competition for projects under joint ventures, ensuring better performance of private sector participants, and improve checks and balances to ensure that the project is technically and financially sound.
