Source: Business Mirror, 21 May 2012
By Jennifer Ng
Barring hitches in the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Board, the P9.76-billion Light Railway Transit Line 2 East Extension Project is headed for implementation.
The LRT extension was one of five projects on transportation, infrastructure and health worth P32.67 billion, which were approved by the Neda’s Cabinet-level Investments Coordination Committee or ICC. The ICC action will be endorsed to the Neda Board, headed by President Aquino, for confirmation.
In a statement, the Neda said the five projects “aim to build and rehabilitate vital infrastructure such as roads, bridges and hospitals to improve the delivery of basic services and movement of trade.”
The LRT Line 2 East Extension Project involves the design and construction of a 4.19-kilometer extension from the existing Santolan Station to Masinag Junction, the intersection of Marcos and Sumulong highways.
Two stations will be located at Emerald Drive, Cainta, Rizal (in front of Robinsons Place Metro East), and Masinag Junction, Antipolo City, Rizal.
“The project will provide rapid and reliable mode of transit to the east of Manila and to various strategic commercial, industrial and educational districts in Metro Manila,” said Neda Deputy Director General Rolando G. Tungpalan.
The total length of the LRT Line 2 will be around 16.75 kilometers upon completion of the extension. The project’s entire cost will be entirely financed by its proponent, the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC).
Also, a public-private partnership (PPP) project, the modernization of the Philippine Orthopedic Center (POC) was approved by the ICC Cabinet Committee (Cabcom).
This project involves the construction of 700-bed capacity tertiary orthopedic hospital within the National Kidney and Transplant Institute Complex along East Avenue, Quezon City.
“There is a need to upgrade the facilities and enhance the operational efficiency of the POC. This addresses the challenge of transforming it into the country’s primary center for bone and joints disease that will be at par with global standards,” Tungpalan said.
The project, with an approved cost of P5.69 billion, also comprises the supply, installation, operations and management of modern diagnostics equipment and IT facilities, as well as the operation and maintenance of the entire facility. The project’s proponent is the Department of Health (DOH).
The upgrading and rehabilitation of the Navotas Fish Port Complex (NFPC) costing P2.7 billion was also given the nod by the ICC Cabcom. The project aims to improve the port’s facilities and services to make easier the unloading, handling and distribution of fish and fishery products.
The NFPC is one of the National Capital Region’s major fish-landing facility that contributes an annual average of 80 percent to the region’s total fish supply.
Specifically, the project covers the upgrading of the landing quay and market halls, establishment of cold-storage facilities, conversion of piers to wharf landing and installation of a wastewater-treatment facility.
The second phase of the P6.12-billion bridge construction acceleration project of the Department of Public Works and for calamity-stricken areas costing was also approved. The project will be funded by Austria. It involves the construction and replacement of 66 temporary bridges with steel structures across the country’s 15 regions.
“This project will provide reliable, safe, and continuous transport service that will reduce travel distance and time, and transport costs of passengers and goods. Most important, municipalities that are often hit by natural calamities will directly benefit from the replacement and construction of these bridges,” Tungpalan said.
Adding to the bridge projects approved by the ICC Cabcom is the National Roads Bridge Placement Project that will be funded by the British government. This also involves the construction and replacement of 133 bridges across the country. Pre-fabricated double lane modular steel bridges from the United Kingdom will be used.
The project’s approved cost is P8.4 billion and will be implemented by the DPWH.
The Neda Board is the country’s highest development planning and policy coordinating body. It comprises various Cabinet secretaries, the president of the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines, the governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and the deputy governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
The ICC, which is one of the seven interagency committees of the Neda Board, evaluates the fiscal, monetary and balance-of-payments implications of major national projects. The ICC’s powers and functions reside in its Cabcom, which is headed by the secretary of finance. The ICC is supported by an interagency Technical Board, with Neda as ICC Secretariat.
