NEDA revises list of flagship infra projects

MANILA, Philippines — The list of flagship projects under the government’s ambitious Build Build Build program will be revised to include more but smaller projects in the regions, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said. 

In a briefing, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary and NEDA chief Ernesto Pernia said that instead of 75 big-ticket projects, there will instead be around 100 flagship projects that are smaller and more feasible in terms of technology and available financing. 

“It will be 100 because there will be smaller projects but still game-changing projects in the regions which we did not include in the initial list,” he said. 

“So what we have done is to take out some projects that are impossible, given the technology, some of which we do not have yet like those for deep waters and bridges,”  he added.

Some of the projects that will be taken out of the list of 75 flagship projects include the Sorsogon-Samar Bridge, Leyte-Surigao Long Bridge and the Cebu-Bohol Bridge. 

Pernia noted that these are among the large projects that are “challenging and costly” to carry out at the moment. 

As no new official development assistance (ODA) will be negotiated for the new projects that will be included in the list, many of these smaller projects will be pursed under the public-private partnership (PPP) mode.

This effectively indicates that the government is changing is strategy of funding more infrastructure projects using ODA funds and own funds instead of PPP. 

 “In general, there was some hesitancy to PPP but over time, minds adjust to reality and I think this is what is happening now,” Pernia explained. 

 “Right now, we must look at projects with high multiplier effects,” he added. 

Many of the smaller projects that will be added to the list are small bridges and roads, Pernia said. 

He noted that not all of these 100 projects will be finished within the current administration but as these are more feasible to carry out, the next administration may be encouraged to continue the other projects in the pipeline. 

Among the 75 orginal flagship projects, nine are expected to be completed by the end of the current administration. 

These include the ongoing expansion of the Clark International Airport, the Binondo-Intramuros Bridge, Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge, Bonifacio Global City to Ortigas Center Road Link Project Phase I, Chico River Pump Irrigation Project, Malitubog-Maridagao Irrigation Project Phase II, Clark Green City Government Center, Clark Green City Mixed-Income Housing. 

Two, on the other hand, have already been completed: the JICA-assisted improvement of the remaining sections along Pasig River from Delpan Bridge to Napindan Channel Project; and the government-funded Pulangi 4 Selective Dredging Phase 3 Project.