More airport, road projects added to flagship program

THE MARCOS administration has added more airport, road and climate and disaster risk-reduction projects to its infrastructure flagship program.

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) on Wednesday identified the 23 new projects that the NEDA Board had added to the list of infrastructure flagship projects (IFPs).

The list now includes the upgrade and expansion of the Bohol-Panglao International Airport, as well as the construction of airports in Baguio and Cagayancillo.

Fifteen road projects were added to the flagship program including the Aritao-Quirino Road, Capas-Botolan Road, Luzon Eastern Seaboard Road Network, Donsol-Pilar-Castilla-Sorsogon City Tourism Highway, Iligan City Coastal Bypass Road, Consolacion-Liloan Bypass Road, Cagayan de Oro Diversion Road Extension, Cagayan de Oro-Opol-El Salvador-Alubijid-Laguindingan Airport Mountain Diversion Road, the Cagayan de Oro Coastal Road (Puerto-Gusa Section), and the Subic Bay (Redondo-Ilanin) Bridge.

Also included in the flagship program were the Accelerated Bridge Construction Project for Greater Economic Mobility and Calamity Response, and the Integrated Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation Measures in the low-lying areas of Pampanga Bay.

The NEDA Board also added the Magat Dam sedimentation countermeasure project; the construction of the Lopez Viaduct along Daang Maharlika, Lopez, Quezon; and Infrastructure for Safer and Resilient Schools (ISRS) project.

Meanwhile, the NEDA Board removed 36 projects from the flagship infrastructure program such as the Wawa Bulk Water Supply project, EDSA Greenways Phase 2, Davao City Expressway, Angeles City public transport modernization, Antique airport development, Bataan bus rapid transit system, a bike share program, North Luzon East Expressway, and the vaccine self-reliance project.

Also delisted were several agriculture-related projects such as the extension of a National Irrigation Systems project, farm-to-market roads, Ilaguen multipurpose irrigation and hydropower project, Ilocos Sur transbasin project, and several projects involving the repair and restoration of irrigation systems.

Also removed was the project involving the construction and rehabilitation of fish ports and other fishery post-harvest facilities, and a renewable energy program for the agri-fishery sector.

NEDA Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan earlier said that the IFPs were updated to ensure the prioritization of high-impact projects that require “immediate” support.

Some projects were also delisted as they were already part of regular government programs, he added.

IFPs refer to major infrastructure projects that have been prioritized by the government for implementation. These projects cover various sectors such as transportation, energy, water resources, and social infrastructure.

The “Build, Better, More” infrastructure program gets P1.5 trillion under the budget this year, equivalent to 5.5% of gross domestic product (GDP).

The government is targeting to sustain infrastructure spending of up to 5-6% of GDP per year. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson