DEPARTMENT of Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark A. Villar said key infrastucture projects entrusted to his department are targeted for completion by the time President Rodrigo R. Duterte steps down in 2022.
Speaking at a conference at the World Trade Center in Pasay City on Thursday, Mr. Villar said: “We aim to finish these projects by the end of President Duterte’s term.”
Mr. Villar said DPWH-led projects that form part of the government’s infrastructure drive include the Central Luzon Link Expressway 1, Plaridel By-Pass Road Phase II, Radial Road 10 (R-10), North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) Harbor Link Segment 10, Metro Manila Skyway — Stage 3;
The NLEX-South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) Connector Road, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Expressway Phase II, the Laguna Lake Highway, the Southeast Metro Manila Expressway C-5 (Phase I);
The Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAX), SLEX Toll Road 4, Quezon-Bicol Expressway, Camarines Sur Expresway, New Bacolod Economic Highway;
The Metro Cebu Expressway, the Davao City Coastal Road, the Pasig-Marikina River Channel Improvement Project Phase II, the Mandaluyong Main Drainage Project;
The Mindanao Logistics Infrastructure Network, the Panguil Bay Bridge, the Bonifacio Global City-Ortigas Center Link, Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge, and the Binondo-Intramuros Link.
“This is the most ambitious program in our country’s history,” Mr. Villar said, with the infrastrucure push expected to cost P8-9 trillion between 2017 and 2022.
When asked on whether the government can fund the program, Mr. Villar told reporters: “The budget is there… We can do it. The Department of Finance said we can do it.”
“Fiscally, the Philippines is in a good position, so I think we will not have any problems,” he added
Two of the projects, the Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge and the Binondo-Intramuros bridge, have been confirmed for funding via official development assistance (ODA), from China.
“Most of the projects are locally funded, but for big projects, we will have foreign [partners], especially because we need their technology,” Mr. Villar said. — Patrizia Paola C. Marcelo
