Neda board approves Mindanao-wide road project
THE National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Board on Tuesday confirmed approval of the Improving Growth Corridors in Mindanao Road Sector Project of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) together with eight other projects.
According to Neda, the Improving Growth Corridors in Mindanao Road Sector Project is worth P21.19 billion through a loan from ADB.
"[The project] involves the upgrading of seven roads and the widening of a 40-kilometer (km) road segment with slope protection. Construction is set to begin late this year and end in the fourth quarter of 2020. The three Tawi-Tawi bridges under the project was likewise conditionally approved," Neda said in a statement.
The Improving Growth Corridors in Mindanao Road Sector Project is among the nine projects that were approved by the Neda board wherein five are categorized as "New Project" while four were changes to previously approved projects.
The other four newly approved projects were the P355.588 billion Metro Manila Subway Project (MMSP) of the Department of Transportation (DOTr); the P5.97 billion Binondo-Intramuros and Estrella-Pantaleon Bridges Construction Project of the DPWH; P3.5 billion Lower Agno River Irrigation System Improvement Project of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA); and the Infrastructure Preparation and Innovation Facility of the Department of Finance.
The other approved changes to previously approved projects included the Philippine National Railway-South Line of the DOTr that will consist of a Commuter Line and Long Haul; Asian Development Bank (ADB) loan validity extension for the Road Improvement and Institutional Development Project by DPWH up to December 30, 2019; increase in cost of the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit of the DOTr, from P10.61 billion to P16.30 billion due to changes in land valuation following the enactment of the Right of Way Act and foreign exchange rate differentials; and change of mode of Implementation for the Clark International Airport Expansion of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority, to Build-Transfer (BT) scheme under the Republic Act No. 7718 or the Amended Build-OperateTransfer (BOT) Law for the construction of the project.
According to Neda, this brings the administration’s total number of approved projects to 35 worth P1.2 trillion, excluding the cost of the Tawi-Tawi bridges.
“The approval and eventual completion of these projects will pave the way for us to achieve our mid-term and longterm goals as a country and a nation,” said Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia. in a statement.