Neda Board seen approving more infra projects

THE NATIONAL Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Board, chaired by the President, will meet on Wednesday to approve more infrastructure projects.

Both Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan and Neda Deputy Director-General Rolando G. Tungpalan confirmed to the INQUIRER that the board would be meeting on Wednesday, although they said the agenda or list of projects to be discussed was still being finalized.

The Neda Board grants the goahead for the rollout of mostly developmental and infrastructure projects, including those to be pursued under the public-private partnership (PPP) framework.

A check with the PPP Center website showed that five PPP projects worth P123.6 billion were pending for Neda Board approval: the Ninoy Aquino In- ternational Airport (Naia) Development Project; North Luzon Expressway (NLEx)-South Luzon Expressway (SLEx) Connector Road; Batangas-Manila (BatMan) 1 Natural Gas Pipeline Project; Plaridel Bypass Toll Road; and Philippine Travel Center Complex Project.

The P74.6-billion Naia Development Project will be jointly implemented by the Department of Transportation and Communications and the Manila International Airport Authority.

“The project would improve, upgrade and enhance the operational efficiencies of all existing terminals of the Naia covering both landside and airside (except air traffic services), to meet the International Civil Aviation Organization standards and develop the main gateway airport of the Philippines,” according to the PPP Center.

The P23.2-billion, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)-led NLEx-SLEx Connector Road, meanwhile, covers the construction, operation and maintenance or O&M of an eightkilometer, four-lane elevated expressway above the Philippine National Railways from C3 Road in Caloocan City to Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3.

The P14.7-billion BatMan 1 would facilitate the delivery and supply of natural gas via a 110-kilometer transmission pipeline from Batangas province to Metro Manila.

The Philippine National Oil Co.-led energy project will entail a private partner to build pipelines as well as install compressor, control and metering stations, supervisory control and data acquisition or Scada systems, and valves.

The P9.4-billion, DPWH-led Plaridel Bypass Toll Road project, meanwhile, will convert the existing 24.6-kilometer, two-lane road traversing five municipalities in Bulacan into a four-lane expressway.

The P1.8-billion Philippine Travel Center Complex—the Department of Tourism’s first PPP project—would involve the “financing, design, construction and maintenance of a mixeduse, multimodal complex that will house various tourism-related agencies in Intramuros,” the PPP Center said.

To date, 10 PPP projects had been awarded, 14 projects are currently under procurement, and two are for rollout.

Neda officials earlier said seven more projects are pending for approval of relevant government agencies before the term of the Aquino administration ends next year.

Including those still in the pipeline, 40 projects worth a total of $25.3 billion would be contributed by the Aquino administration’s centerpiece PPP initiative to help fill the $127.1billion infrastructure gap in the country earlier estimated by Manila-based multilateral lender Asian Development Bank for the years 2010-2020.