ILOILO – Some infrastructure flagship projects in Western Visayas, if not all 10, may be brought up by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. in his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 24.
Engr. Arecio A. Casing Jr., director of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Region 6, said they regularly submit to the Presidential Management Staff (PMS) updates on the status of ongoing projects per region.
The NEDA central office also has an internal dashboard that monitors all the 194 infrastructure flagship projects in the country worth P9 trillion, including the 10 projects in the region.
The infrastructure flagship projects in the region, some ongoing and some under pre-implementation, are the following:
* Boracay Circumferential Road (58.61 percent complete) – The project will improve and widen 16.64 kilometers of main road, including the construction of drainage and sidewalks with paving blocks or stamped concrete. A 12-meter road right-of-way for differently abled persons, street lights, and trees will be provided.
* Bacolod-Negros Occidental Economic Highway (72.82 percent complete) – The project will open, concretize and widen 42.279 kilometers of road. It will also involve the construction of 12 new bridges, providing slope protection works, and improving the existing 6.603 kilometers of road and four bridges.
* Jalaur River Multipurpose Project Stage II (84.54 percent complete) – The project includes the construction of three dams (Jalaur High Dam, Jalaur Afterbay Dam, and Alibunan River Catch Dam). It covers 17.290 hectares of watershed area and 31,840 hectares of irrigation service area.
* Antique Airport Development Project – to be implemented by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) with funding from the General Appropriations Act (GAA)
* Iloilo-Capiz Aklan Expressway (ICAEx) – to be implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and funded through a public-private partnership (PPP)
* Panay-Guimaras-Negros (PGN) Inter-Island Link Bridge – to be implemented by DPWH through PPP
* Panay River Basin Integrated Development Project – to be implemented by the DPWH through PPP
* Upgrading and improvement of the Iloilo International Container Port – to be implemented by DPWH through PPP
* Iloilo-Santa Barbara Bus Rapid Transit – to be implemented by DOTr through PPP
* Panay Railway System – to be implemented by DOTr through GAA
Casing said those projects yet to begin construction are targeted to start within the Marcos administration.
“He may not reach its completion but it is assured that it will start on his term,” he added.
Infrastructure flagship projects are game-changing, big-ticket, and transformative projects endorsed by different government agencies. These are prioritized at a level of national significance under the Better-More program of the current administration.
Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said the approved new list consists of 194 projects related to physical connectivity and water resources such as irrigation, water supply and flood management.
He added that the list also includes projects on digital connectivity, health, power and energy, agriculture, and other infrastructure.
“The new IFPs (infrastructure flagship projects) are seen as addressing the binding constraints to business investment and expansion that will create more high-quality and resilient jobs that will allow us to meet our poverty reduction goals for the medium term,” Balisacan said.
The board, whose chairman is President Marcos, tasked NEDA as the lead agency that would monitor the implementation of the projects to ensure the quality and timeliness of their execution.
Of the 194 projects, 123 are new or will start to receive funding under the Marcos administration, including the rehabilitation of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, the North Long Haul Railway and the Metro Cebu Expressway.
Other new projects are the Panay Railway Project, Mindanao Railway Project III, San Mateo Railway, the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital Project, and the Ilocos Sur Transbasin Project.
Balisacan said 95 of the infrastructure projects are ongoing and have been approved for implementation, while eight have already secured government approval. Forty-seven are in the preparation stage, while the remaining 44 are in the pre-project preparation process. (With a report from philstar.com)/PN
