Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan on Friday said the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board has approved six other key projects, including the proposal to raise the fund for the rehabilitation of Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3).

This, after the NEDA Board, chaired by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., gave its greenlight to seven projects.

On Thursday, Malacañang already announced that the first public-private partnership (PPP) project approved by the NEDA Board was the proposed construction of a P6-billion cancer center at the University of the Philippines (UP)-Philippine General Hospital (PGH) in Manila.

On top of the UP-PGH cancer center project, the proposed increase in the cost of the MRT-3 Rehabilitation Project by P7.6 billion from P21.9 billion to P29.6 billion also secured the NEDA Board’s nod, Balisacan, who is also the NEDA Secretary-General said in a Palace press briefing on Friday.

“This project involves upgrading MRT-3 to its original, as designed, state, with provision for capacity expansion in the future. All subsystems will be restored, renewed or upgraded, including the tracks, signaling system, power supply system, overhead catenary system and communication system, as well as maintenance in a station equipment,” he said.

Airport projects

Balisacan said the NEDA Board also approved the utilization of Japan International Cooperation Agency’s (JICA) P2.12-billion loan balance for the Communications, Navigation and Surveillance for Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM).

The NEDA Board, Balisacan said, also confirmed the Investment Coordination Committee’s approval of the Department of Transportation’s P17-billion New Dumaguete Airport Development Project, with P13 billion of which will be funded through Official Development Assistance (ODA) from the Korean government.

The NEDA also approved the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) P6.6-billion Mindanao Inclusive Agriculture Development Project (MIADP), which aims to increase agricultural productivity, resiliency and access to markets and services of organized farmers and fisherfolk groups in selected areas, Balisacan said.

He said around P5.3 billion of the estimated total cost of the MIADP will be financed through the ODA from the World Bank, while the remaining P863.461 million will be shouldered by the DA and the local government units (LGUs).

He said the MIADP covers selected ancestral domains in Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, Davao Region, Soccsksargen, Caraga and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

Flood resilience and adaptation

Balisacan said the NEDA Board also gave its approval to the Department of Public Works and Highways’ (DPWH) first phase of the Integrated Flood Resilience and Adaptation Project.

He said the project aims to mitigate flood damage, reduce flood risk and improve climate resilience in the country’s three major river basins, including Abra, Ranao and Tagum Libuganon in Mindanao

The project, with an estimated cost of P20 billion, is to be financed through an ODA loan from the Asian Development Bank.

Balisacan said the NEDA Board also approved the DOTR’s request for changes in scope, an increase in cost, and the extension of the implementation period for the Davao Public Transport Modernization Project.

The project, he said, involves delivering a “modern, high priority” bus system for Davao City, wherein interconnected bus services will be prioritized along 29 routes. “Implementation period for this project is extended from 2023 to 2029,” Balisacan said.

CurrentPH News Service