The government has approved three new infrastructure projects worth P139.77 billion and given the go signal to the lone bidder of the Light Rail Transit 1 South Extension project.
At the latest National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board meeting chaired by President Benigno Aquino III, approved were the Laguna Lakeshore Expressway-Dike project worth P122.81 billion, the operations and maintenance project for the P14.62-billion Laguindingan Airport, and the construction of the New Bohol Airport, assessed at P2.34 billion.
“The approval of these new infrastructure projects is a timely contribution to the improvement of the country’s connectivity and efficiency, mitigating disaster-risks, supporting agricultural production, and pursuing energy and water security,” NEDA director general Arsenio Balisacan said in a statement.
“These are all in line with strategies of the Updated Philippine Development Plan 2011-2016,” the Socioeconomic Planning Secretary added.
LRT project
Meanwhile, the NEDA Board also approved the P9.35-billion bid of the Light Rail Manila Consortium, the tandem of Metro Pacific Investments Corporation and Ayala Corp, for the LRT Line 1 South Extension project.
Once completed, the project will improve access to central Manila by providing off-street public transport connections to the rapidly growing southern portion of Metro Manila and the province of Cavite.
“All these projects are aligned with the government’s overall strategy of increasing public infrastructure spending for the country to provide Filipinos with quality, adequate, and accessible infrastructure facilities and services,” Balisacan said.
Laguindingan Airport
Meanwhile, the Laguindingan Airport development project, a public-private partnership (PPP) scheme, will include capacity expansion and upgrade of facilities and equipment to international standards. The airport replaced the Cagayan de Oro (Lumbia) Airport, which served as a large catchment area for Northern Mindanao.
The New Bohol Airport development project, another PPP scheme, will involve the selection of an international or national consortium to market the airport and develop direct international passenger traffic.
The consortium will be in charge of infusing necessary capital investments to upgrade the facility’s capacity to accommodate increased passenger numbers and air traffic movements.
Estimated construction period is from 2014 to 2016, with a maximum concession period of 35 years.
Photo from cdodev.com
