NEDA greenlights 6 new multibillion-peso projects

MANILA, Philippines — The Investment Coordination Committee-Cabinet Committee (ICC-Cab- Com) of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) has approved six new multibillion-peso projects and cleared the extension of financing means for other projects.

Approved during the committee’s Sept. 27 meeting was the P14.97-billion Pasacao-Balatan Coastal Tourism Highway to be implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

The project involves the construction of a 40.69-kilometer  four-lane coastal tourism highway along the west coast of Camarines Sur that will provide access to various tourism sites and a direct link between the municipalities of Pasacao and Balatan. This will be funded through DPWH’s budget allocation under the General Appropriations Act.

Also approved was the P7.42-billion proposed Aqueduct No. 7 (AQ-7) under the Expanded Angat Water Transmission Improvement Project of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System, with an extension of implementation period until July 2023.

It will involve the detailed engineering design and construction of a steel aqueduct to provide operational flexibility to the raw water transmission from Ipo Dam to La Mesa Dam.

Likewise approved was the P11.46-billion additional financing for the Infrastructure Preparation and Innovation Facility proposed to be funded through a loan from the Asian Development Bank.

The additional financing will scale up the existing facility to improve the quality of priority infrastructure project proposals. This will also accelerate early project implementation following the ICC approval process through the conduct of detailed engineering design and tender support, and strengthening the capacity of key agencies responsible for infrastructure projects.

The Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling Project of the Department of Agrarian Reform was also cleared to hasten the subdivision of collective land ownership award and generation of individual titles. It will cost P27.92 billion and will be funded through a loan from the World Bank.

The Local Governance Reform Sector Development Project of the DOF-Bureau of Local Government Finance was also approved with a total project cost of P1.56 billion (excluding finance charges). This will strengthen the policy and administrative environment for enhancing local source revenues from real property tax by instituting reforms in real property valuation and assessment.

The ICC-CC also approved the Development Objective Assistance Agreement: Improved Health for Underserved Filipinos between the Department of Health and the US Government through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

This project will focus on the country’s priority health concerns such as tuberculosis, family planning, maternal and child health, and improving governance mechanisms that have bearing on the implementation of the Universal Health Care Act.

Financing extensions cleared by the ICC-CabCom, meanwhile, include the two-year extension of the World Bank loan validity for the Philippine Rural Development Project of the Department of Agriculture, from May 31, 2021 to May 31, 2023.

Likewise, the one-year extension for each of the five existing bilateral agreements between the Philippines and the US covering the areas of Economic growth, democracy and governance; basic education; health; Mindanao peace and development; and environment, water, and climate change.