10 biggest infrastructure projects under Duterte

The Philippine government, under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte, has identified 4,490 infrastructure programs/activities/projects under the 2017-2022 Public Investment Program (PIP), with total investment requirement of P7.74 trillion or $148.3 billion.

Luzon Spine Expressway

Under the plan, the government will raise infrastructure spending (cash basis) from about 4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2017 to over 6 percent by 2022, or an investment of $130 billion (PhP 6.8 trillion) over six years, to usher in the “golden age of infrastructure” in the Philippines.

In absolute terms, the Duterte administration plans to gradually increase the public infrastructure budget to P1.2 trillion in 2018; P1.4 trillion in 2019; P1.5 trillion in 2020; P1.7 trillion in 2021; and P1.9 trillion in 2022.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said the plan is to grow the economy by 7 percent or better into the medium term by embarking on an ambitious infrastructure program dubbed the 'Build, Build, Build' program consisting of 75 flagship projects, of which 23 have completed the approvals process and ready to begin implementation.

Among the priority projects, the government identified 75 key, large-scale and game-changing infrastructure projects which will be pursued by the Duterte administration to enhance connectivity and promote growth centers across the country.

Forty-five of these projects are located in Luzon, 10 in the Visayas and 17 in Mindanao.

Of the 75 projects, 37 projects are expected to be completed within the term of President Duterte.

“Over the next five years, we expect to invest about $170 billion in providing better infrastructure projects for our economy and our people. Our foremost consideration is improving transport facilities that will make movement of goods and people more efficient. We are building several railway lines, a subway system for the Manila area, and new roads that will serve as growth corridors for key areas of the country,” Dominguez said.

According to the National Economic and Development Authority, the unprecedented infrastructure program is expected to generate 823,696 jobs in 2018; 1,115,999 jobs in 2019; 1,228,963 jobs in 2020; 1,399,463 jobs in 2021; and 1,705,023 jobs in 2022.

Under the 'Build, Build, Build' program, the 10 largest infrastructure projects will cost at least $1 billion each, with the most expensive project likely to exceed $14 billion.  Find out where they will be built in this list.

PNR North Commuter Rail

Philippine National Railway

Cost: Over P700 billion or $14 billion

The Philippines will spend more than P700 billion or $14 billion to expand the Philippine National Railway (PNR) system, beginning with the 38-kilometer PNR North 1 or the North-South Commuter Railway which will be built at a cost of P285 billion. It will reduce travel time between Malolos, Bulacan and Manila from over 1 hour and 30 minutes to 35 minutes once the railway is fully operational.

The project will be followed by the P211.46-billion Malolos-Clark Railway and the P134-billion Philippine National Railway South Commuter Line, a 72-km mass transportation railway from Manila to Los Baños, Laguna.

PNR South Commuter will be seamlessly integrated with PNR North 1, PNR North 2, and PNR South Long Haul, a 581 kilometer, standard-gauge railway from Manila to Legazpi, Matnog, and Batangas City. The railway will connect cities, international seaports, and economic zones, allowing for faster transportation of passengers and freight. PNR South Commuter will have an initial cost of P151 billion.

Mega Manila subway

Mega-Manila Subway project

Cost: P357 billion or $7 billion

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has initially extended a 104.53 billion yen loan (approximately P51 billion or $1 billion) to the Philippines, representing the first tranche of the total loan financing requirement for the construction of the first phase of the Metro Manila Subway Project.

Utilizing cutting-edge Japanese tunneling technology, the construction of the first phase of the Metro Manila Subway will stretch from Mindanao Avenue in Quezon City to the Food Terminal Inc. (FTI) area in Taguig City, and will continue all the way to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

It will involve the construction of an underground railway spanning about 30 kilometers with 14 stations that is expected to be completed by 2025.

The DOTr has targeted the partial operation of the subway with the opening of at least three Quezon City stations—along Mindanao-Quirino Highway, Tandang Sora and North Avenue—by 2022.

According to the Department of Finance, the total project cost for the first phase of the subway project is estimated at 788.89 billion yen, which is around P356.96 billion or approximately $7 billion.

Of this total project cost, 73 percent (573.73 billion yen) will be funded by JICA through a time-sliced loan arrangement comprising three to four tranches, while the remaining 27 percent, which is about 215.16 billion yen or around P97.35 billion, will be shouldered by the Philippine government.

Mactan Bridge

Island bridges

Cost: P269 billion or over $5 billion

The government government plans to build eight long bridges with a combined cost of P269.19 billion or over $5 billion to link the islands in Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.

Two flagship projects, namely the Luzon-Samar Link Bridge and the Leyte-Surigao Link Bridge, will enhance inter-island connectivity in the country.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said the bridges would be a part of the government’s massive infrastructure buildup to stimulate growth and create jobs outside Metro Manila.

Dominguez said the bridge projects would be complemented by the construction of road networks to transform the island-economies of the Visayas into growth corridors.

The eight proposed bridge projects are to be submitted to the National Economic and Development Authority’s Investment Coordination Committee for approval.

The proposed projects include an 18.2-kilometer bridge to connect Samar provinces to the main island of Luzon; a 20-kilometer bridge connecting Leyte to Mindanao through either an underwater tunnel bridge or a long-span overhead bridge; a 5.7-kilometer Panay-Guimaras bridge; and a 12.3-kilometer Guimaras-Negros inter-island linkage.

Other projects are a one-kilometer Bohol-Lapinig Island bridge; an 18-kilometer Lapinig Island-to-Leyte bridge; a 5.5-kilometer Cebu-Negros Link bridge; and a 24.5-kilometer Cebu-to-Bohol link.

New Clark City

Cost: Hundreds of billions

The Duterte administration has agreed to continue the development of New Clark City, a new city that will rise on a 9,450-hectare property in Tarlac province. The state-run Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) tapped the private sector to develop the area.

The project includes the development of P97-billion Philippine Sports City, P13-billion National Government Administrative Center, P31-billion Food Processing Terminal and International Food Market and P8.3 billion Mixed Income Development Housing.

Mindanao Raiway

Mindanao Railway

Cost: Hundreds of billions

The government plans to build an 830-kilometer railway network across Mindanao. The Tagum-Davao City-Digos (TDD) segment, which spans 105 kilometers, is expected to cost P31.5 billion. The whole project will connect major cities, seaports, economic zones, allowing for faster transportation of passengers and freight. The TDD segment is expected to serve over 100,000 passengers daily in its opening year.

Metro Manila BRT

Metro Manila Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)

Cost: Over P100 billion

The EDSA BRT is a proposal to establish and implement a 48.6-kilometer high-quality bus-based mass transportation system and a corresponding pedestrian and bicycle greenway network. The system consists of four corridors; namely, a main corridor along Edsa, and spur corridors along Ayala Ave. to World Trade Center, Ortigas to Bonifacio Global City, and Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

Mindanao logistics

Mindanao Logistics Infrastructure Network

Cost: P98 billion

The Mindanao Logistics Infrastructure Network aims to improve the logistics infrastructure network in Northern Mindanao, Davao, SOCCKSARGEN and Caraga region. It involves the construction or improvement of 2,500 kilometers of roads. The project also seeks to enhance the agribusiness competitiveness in Mindanao by developing an intermodal logistics system that will address the constraints caused by high cost of transport and inadequate logistics infrastructure, among others.

MRT 7

MRT 7

Cost: P78 billion

The Metro Rail Transit System Line 7 (MRT-7) is 22.8-km rapid transit line from San Jose del Monte, Bulacan to North Avenue, Quezon City. The project is being financed by conglomerate San Miguel Corp. Once completed by 2019 or 2020, the project is expected to serve 500,000 passengers a day.

Subic-Clark Cargo Railway

Subic-Clark Cargo Railway Project

Cost: P57.6 billion

The Subic-Clark Railway Project aims to provide rail connection between Subic Bay Freeport Zone and Clark Freeport and Special Economic Zone, linking Subic Port with Clark International Airport and other major economic hubs in Central Luzon, especially New Clark City, and forming an integrated logistics hub for the development of Central Luzon as a new growth center to decongest Metro Manila.

Visayas-Mindanao power grid

Visayas-Mindanao Grid Interconnection

Cost: P51.7 billion

The government will invest P51.7-billion for the Visayas-Mindanao grid interconnection that aims to provide stable and secure power supply to the three major island grids.

The project will involve a 92-kilometer submarine cable between Dapitan, Zamboanga del Norte and Santander in Cebu.

23 April 2018

 

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