Gov’t forms inter-agency team to address project bottlenecks

The government has created an inter-agency team which will focus on addressing bottlenecks in the implementation of infrastructure projects in the country, the Department of Finance (DOF) said.

In an interview, Finance Assistant Secretary Maria Edita Tan said the government has created a project facilitation team, which includes officials from the DOF, departments of budget, transportation, public works and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) to address problems in project implementation, including right-of-way issues.

“We created a team under the NEDA. This is the project facilitation team and they have been looking at all the bottlenecks in the location of projects, including the rightof-way,” Tan said.

Right-of-way refers to a part or the entirety of a property, site or location, with defined physical boundaries, used or required for a national government project. The acquisition of right-of-way has been identified as a possible hurdle in the administration’s infrastructure plan.

But Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez is confident the government will be able to address right-of-way issues immediately through coordination between the agencies.

“The right-of-way issues are always a challenge, but you know we are confident that the agencies will be able to clear that in due time,” Dominguez said.

Aside from the project facilitation team, Dominguez and Tan cited the close cooperation between the DOTr and the DPWH to address difficulties in acquiring right-of-way.

“Given that the DPWH is actually an expert in dealing with the right-of-way issues, the DOTr has requested for their assistance and in fact they’re transferring some of those right-of-way issues for DPWH to address,” Tan said.

Last year, the DPWH created the Unified Project Management Office Right-of-Way Task Force which is focused on handling right-of-way acquisition to minimize delays in the implementation of infrastructure projects.

Furthermore, Dominguez said the government has increased its budget for right-of way acquisition, as well as the resettlement of families which will be displaced in the construction of new roads, though he did not provide the exact figures.

The Duterte administration plans to embark on a massive infrastructure program until 2022 in its thrust to sustain economic growth, attract investments, create jobs and reduce poverty.