P1 T worth of projects under construction as of Jan — DOF

MANILA, Philippines — Forty-four public infrastructure projects with a total cost of about P1 trillion are under construction as of early-2018, according to a report from the Department of Finance (DOF).

Another 15 projects, worth P1.04 trillion, are also in the pre-construction stage, according to DOF data.

In an interview, Finance Undersecretary and chief economist Gil Beltran said most of the projects under the pre-construction stage would most likely start their implementation this year.

Beltran said among these projects are the P355.6 billion Mega-Manila Subway Project and the P134 billion Philippine National Railway South Commuter Line.

Also included in the list of items under pre-construction stage are the P211.46 billion Malolos-Clark Railway, P51.7 billion Visayas-Mindanao Grid Interconnection project, P25.5 billion Metro Manila Flood Control project and the P285 billion North-South Commuter Railway project.

These, however, do not yet include those under the rehabilitation program of the war-torn Marawi City, Beltran said.

On the other hand, among the projects already under construction are the P299.4 billion PNR South Long Haul, the P40.57 billion Davao Airport Operations, Maintenance and Development Project, and the P10.86 billion Kaliwa Dam Project.

According to Beltran, most of the funding requirements for the projects under construction or pre-construction are covered by the 2018 General Appropriations Act and Official Development Assistance, while the rest are under public-private partnerships. Some are also funded by government-owned and -controlled corporations and local government units.

“These are included in our fiscal program. If you see the fiscal program, our deficit ceiling is three percent,” he said.

The Duterte administration is embarking on a massive infrastructure program, dubbed as Build Build Build, which requires P8.4 trillion in investments until 2022.

In line with this, economic managers decided to adopt an expansionary fiscal policy, raising the government’s budget deficit ceiling to three percent of the gross domestic product.

For 2018, data from the Department of Budget and Management showed P1.097 trillion from the budget has been earmarked for public infrastructure. This is equivalent to 6.3 percent of the GDP.

Over the medium term, investments in infrastructure is projected to rise further to 7.4 percent of GDP until 2022.