It’s a go for North-South railway, 6 other projects

MANILA, Philippines – The Manila-Sorsogon railway line and a new Nayong Pilipino at Entertainment City are among the seven major infrastructure projects valued at P270 billion approved by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) board.

President Duterte’s specific instruction to concerned officials is to make sure contracts are “favorable to government,” spokesman Ernesto Abella said. 

The approval of the seven projects brought to 16 the number of infrastructure projects prioritized in the first four and a half months of the Duterte administration. In total, the projects are worth P500 billion.

Palace officials did not say if the projects would proceed even without the emergency powers being requested by Duterte from Congress.

Earlier, NEDA director general Ernesto Pernia stressed the need for the administration to expedite infrastructure projects, citing their vital role in boosting overall growth.

“Any building of the economy, it has to start with infrastructure, and mobility is very important these days. Not only mobility through connectivity in ICT but also physical mobility and that is what… we’re going to facilitate or make easier under these infrastructure projects,” he said when he initially presented the nine projects first approved by the NEDA board early this month.

Upon arrival from Malaysia last week, Duterte appealed to the public for more patience as forthcoming infrastructure projects are expected to worsen traffic in urban areas, especially Metro Manila.

The seven projects include the scaling up of the Second Cordillera Highlands Agricultural Resources Project (CHARMP2) under the Department of Agriculture; expansion of the Philippine Rural Development Project; improvement/widening of General Luis-Kaybiga-Polo Novaliches Road to Valenzuela City; New Cebu International Port; North-South Railway Project (NSRP)-South Line; Malitubog-Maridagao Irrigation Project Stage 2 under the National Irrigation Authority (NIA); and the New Nayong Pilipino at Entertainment City under the Department of Tourism.

Abella said the Chico River Pump Irrigation Project has been deferred to give way to a reconfiguration of the project by NIA to include hydropower.