Finishing the big infrastructure projects in the pipeline is the Philippines’ ticket to sustained economic progress. Their completion without much delay will lead to increased investments and higher number of foreign tourists, and will create more jobs.
The completion of infrastructure projects, including farm-to-market roads, airports, seaports, rail networks and storage facilities will open up many economic opportunities, especially in the countryside, and boost the government’s objective of significantly reducing the poverty incidence.
Major credit watcher S&P Global Ratings has so far endorsed the government’s infrastructure thrust, raising its outlook on the Philippines’ credit rating from “stable” to “positive.” It cited the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program and the P8.4-billion “Build Build Build” program, under which massive investments in infrastructure are set. Proceeds from the tax reform will partly fund the infrastructure projects, estimated at about $160 billion over the next five years or up to 2022.
President Duterte last week expressed his intention to build all major infrastructure projects quickly to fulfill his election promise. This includes the P735.6-billion Bulacan airport of San Miguel Corp., which the National Economic and Development Authority board headed by the president himself approved.
The project in the coastal town of Bulakan in Bulacan province is by far the single-biggest infrastructure project of the Duterte government. The second largest is the 25-kilometer, P355.6-billion subway in Metro Manila, which aims to decongest the metropolis of heavy traffic that is causing around P3.5 billion in economic losses daily.
The unsolicited airport proposal of San Miguel, meanwhile, involves the construction, operation and maintenance of Bulacan International Airport over an area spanning 2,500 hectares. Once completed, the project will be able to accommodate 100-million passengers yearly by its opening year in 2023.
President Duterte so far has shown the political will to push ahead with major critical infrastructure projects. Foreign financial institutions also have backed the program.
It is now up to the implementing government agencies to take the lead and clear all the legal, technical and physical obstacles that could mar the implementation of the projects.