ICC Cabinet Committee endorses P57.5 B projects to NEDA

MANILA, Philippines -  Six big-ticket projects with a combined cost of P57.49 billion were endorsed to the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Board for approval.

In a statement released over the weekend, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said six projects were approved by the Investment Coordination Committee (ICC) Cabinet Committee during its meeting last Friday. The projects would be submitted to the NEDA Board for final approval.

Dominguez said the biggest project in the list, amounting to P21.19 billion, involves the improvement of roads in Mindanao to provide more direct routes and open more areas for development.

The project will fund the upgrade of seven gravel roads covering 236.5 kilometers, as well as a 40-kilometer road segment in Mindanao.

Another project approved during the ICC-Cabinet Committee meeting was the creation of a Project Facilitation, Monitoring and Innovation Task Force which will be in charge of monitoring the implementation of the 75 flagship infrastructure projects of the government.

The estimated cost for the creation and mobilization of the team is P14.99 billion.

The ICC-Cabinet Committee also approved the procurement of seven maritime disaster response helicopters to strengthen the Philippine Coast Guard’s capacity to respond to maritime incidents during natural calamities.

The procurement plan, which will cost around P5.89 billion, will also include the training of pilots and technical crew; purchase of mission equipment, maintenance tools and spare parts; construction of hangars; and project management.

Meanwhile, the body also recommended for NEDA Board approval the construction of the P4.61- billion Binondo-Intramuros Bridge and the P1.376 billion Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge. The bridges will be funded through grants committed by the Chinese government.

The former will involve the construction of a steel bowstring arch bridge to connect Intramuros and Binondo. The latter will expand the two-lane Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge, which connects Makati City and Mandaluyong City, into four lanes to increase road network capacity.

Dominguez said the ICC-Cabinet Committee also approved the P7.92 billion Infrastructure Preparation and Innovation Facility which will support project development and implementation of key infrastructure projects.

The facility will conduct feasibility assessment and studies, detailed engineering design, preparation of procurement documents and due diligence reviews.

Lastly, the committee also gave the go-signal for the P1.52-billion Conflict Sensitive Resource and Asset Management Program-Financial Cooperation Measure project to be administered by the Land Bank of the Philippines.

The project will mobilize financial resources to local government units and micro, small and medium enterprises in Mindanao. It will focus on development-oriented infrastructure and access to asset finance, which applies conflict-sensitive appraisal techniques.

The Duterte administration plans to fast-track the implementation of infrastructure projects and development projects to sustain economic growth, and ultimately reduce poverty in the country. The process begins with faster deliberation and approval of projects in the pipeline.

From June 2016 to July this year, the NEDA Board has already approved 28 projects worth P786 billion.