The National Economic and Development Authority Board’s Investment Coordination Committee-Cabinet Committee chaired by Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III approved on May 17 the changes in three infrastructure projects.
The ICC-CabCom approved changes in the Central Luzon Link Expressway project, phase I; the National Irrigation Sector Rehabilitation and Improvement Project; and the Metro Manila Wastewater Management Project.
Neda said in a statement Tuesday the implementation period of CLLEX project’s phase 1 of the Public Works Department would be extended from June 2017 to April 2021, and its loan validity would be extended from July 2019 to July 2022, inclusive of a one-year defects liability period.
“This will allow the DPWH to complete the remaining works that were hobbled by issues over right-of-way acquisition and delivery of aggregate supply. The implementation period extension will not entail
an increase in total project cost,” Neda said.
Neda said that for the NISRIP of the National Irrigation Administration, the project’s loan validity would be extended from the original closing date of July 2019 to July 2021.
The project implementation period for civil works and other activities will also be extended from the originally approved period of February 2012-June 2019 to February 2012-June 2021.
The revised total project cost is now P3.13 billion, a 21.78-percent decrease from the previously approved cost of P4.01 billion. It said that for the scope of the project, the coverage would decrease to 34,216 hectares from the original estimate of 35,670 hectares.
NIA said that despite the decrease in coverage, there would be a net increase in the total number of farmers who would benefit from NISRIP”•from 22,563 to 26,683 farmers”•and an increase in annual rice production of up to 319,510 tons per year.
Meanwhile, the ICC-CabCom extended the closing date of the loan for the Metro Manila Wastewater Management Project from June 2019 to June 2020 and approved the replacement of the sub-contract packages under the account of Manila Water Co. Inc.
The original four Pasig Project Contract Packages will be replaced by three Marikina North Project Contract Packages and four University of the Philippines project contract packages.
The MWMP’s improvement of sewerage and septage management services is expected to benefit up to 850,000 people within the MWCI service area, and up to 1.87 million people within the Maynilad Water Services Inc. concession area.
The project’s main proponent is the Land Bank of the Philippines with concessionaires MWCI and MWSI.
The ICC-Cabcom also noted the changes in the Access to Sustainable Energy Program of the Department of Energy.
The changes include a two-year implementation period extension from Dec. 18, 2019 to Dec. 18, 2021, a two-year validity extension of a grant from the European Union from Dec. 18, 2021 to Dec. 18, 2023 and a re-allocation of grant proceeds from contingencies to technical assistance.
These were approved through the Department of Finance’s signing of an addendum to the financing agreement between the EU and the Philippine government last December 2018.
