Infrastracture

by Mary Grace Padin (The Philippine Star), Dec 28, 2017 MANILA, Philippines — An inclusive economy with a thriving middle class is the vision of the Duterte administration for the Philippines. To achieve this goal, President Duterte has launched a massive infrastructure program to spur economic growth and address the country’s needs.

By Richmond Mercurio (The Philippine Star), Nov 29, 2017 MANILA, Philippines — The Duterte administration’s massive infrastructure program could face setbacks due to shortages in essential construction materials and skilled labor, construction industry officials said.

by Ian Nicolas P. Cigaral, Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan, Businessworld, May 16, 2017 CABINET officials rejected claims that Chinese funding for infrastructure will burden the economy with too much debt, saying that tax reform will help the Philippines raise the bulk of the needed funds internally.

By Boo Chanco (The Philippine Star), Apr 24, 2017 The Infrastructure presentation last week was impressive. The use of social media to spread the word around was impressive as well.

By Philippines News Agency, Jan. 26, 2017 A total of 64 big-ticket projects, ranging from major road networks, railway systems and bus rapid-transit (BRT) systems to airport and seaport modernization, are either for implementation or in the pipeline as part of the Duterte administration’s envisioned “golden age of infrastructure.”

By Czeriza Valencia, Philstar, Dec 25, 2016 MANILA, Philippines – While it remains to be seen if the Duterte administration can deliver the promises under its massive infrastructure push, the groundwork for game changing projects is being laid down at an unprecedented speed and with promise of greater resources.

MANILA, Philippines – Independent government researchers have found the state’s medical infrastructure programs to be plagued with serious flaws and lack of strategic directions and gaps.

State spending on infrastructure fell by over a fifth in November last year, but the 11-moth tally was still up, according to Department of Budget and Management (DBM) data.

MANILA, December 5 (PIA) — Quality of infrastructure in the Philippines is second to the last in the ASEAN region. Senior Research Fellow of the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) Dr. Adoracion Navarro disclosed this during the forum “Financing Infrastructure in the Philippines ” held at PIDS.

MANILA, Philippines – An economist stressed that the Philippines needs to double its efforts in pushing infrastructure projects and developments to sustain high economic growth and make it inclusive.

Wider infrastructure development is crucial for the Philippines to push a faster and more robust economic growth in the next three years, research from the Standard Chartered Bank showed on Monday.

Purisima said: “ If you are not a part of global supply chains, then you will probably be not competitive and you’ll probably be out of the loop.” Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said that there is a need to put up more infrastructure, improve the cost of doing business in the country, and invest in…

MANILA, Philippines–More than 93 percent of barangay (village) roads nationwide and nearly 69 percent and 66 percent, respectively, of provincial and national roads remain unpaved.

Did you know that government borrowed billions of pesos to build two major infrastructure projects that are now grossly underutilized—at only about one-twentieth of capacity—five years after completion? How would you feel if you learned that it is government itself, by its subsequent moves, which had undermined the use of these facilities? And how would…

MANILA, Philippines – The Aquino administration is seeking P2.006 trillion as appropriation for 2013 to fund projects that aim to bolster the country’s bid to achieve economic growth of six to seven percent in 2013, Budget and Management Secretary Florencio Abad said yesterday.

The P133-billion worth of projects recently approved by the government respond to the objectives of the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2011-2016, which is to generate employment and massive investment in infrastructure to attain inclusive and sustainable growth, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said over the weekend.

THE Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 (NAIA 1) again made headlines in the international arena, but in a bad way. NAIA 1 was adjudged by travel guide Frommer’s as the second worst airport in the world.

THE administration of President Benigno Aquino 3rd has lined up almost P142-billion worth of infrastructure projects that are scheduled for implementation beginning this month, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad revealed on Monday.

The Transport Department said Thursday it will build all its infrastructure projects and will not entertain proposals from the private sector to reduce cost.

PAST public-private partnership (PPP) projects in the Philippines were “unsuccessful” mostly because of lack of transparency, competition and preparation, according to a study by the Asian Development Bank.

THE Department of Public Works and Highways on Thursday said that the government will spend about P750 billion for infrastructure projects.

MANILA, Philippines – Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson spent the first six months of his term implementing reforms in the agency often rated as the most corrupt and controversial.

THE government allots only 1.5 percent of its total expenditures to local infrastructure, despite the growing need to boost the roads and bridges in the rural areas.

MANILA, Philippines – Britain-based Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. (HSBC) said the strong economic growth in the Philippines can be sustained if the government immediately undertakes infrastructure projects.

MANILA, Philippines – The government needs an estimated P3.126 trillion worth of investments to finance various infrastructure projects from 2009 to 2013, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said.

MANILA, Philippines – Monetary authorities believe that there is no compelling need to tweak its key policy rates due to benign inflation outlook which prompted the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to slash this year and next year’s inflation forecasts.

THE Aquino administration has to arrest the 14-year deterioration in the Philippines’ competitiveness by aggressively improving the country’s infrastructure, particularly its power sector, according to the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) Policy Center.

ONE of the accomplishments of the Arroyo administration is the creation of the Nautical Highway System using roll-on, roll-off (roro) vessels. It has reduced passenger and cargo transport costs as well as travel time within the Philippines. This is only part of the administration’s great accomplishments in infrastructure building in terms of roads, bridges and…

Under President Gloria Arroyo’s watch, the former US Subic Naval Base and Clark Air Base have developed to become an important part of a premier Asan integrated logistics base. After President Arroyo’s nine years in office, the vast Subic-Clark Corridor has become one of the more important investment havens in the country.

In a previous column, I mentioned that we made a study and conducted a workshop on the barriers to the entry of foreign investments in the Philippines. I’ll expound further on one topic we took up—infrastructure—and our recommendations on how to get more investments into the sector.