NEDA Board OKs PHP 63B projects

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board on Tuesday approved two projects worth PHP 63.2 billion, as well as the release of an executive order (EO) that will implement the tariff commitments under the Philippines-South Korea free trade deal.

The EO will cover Manila’s tariff commitments under the Philippines-South Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which was sealed in September last year, NEDA Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said in a statement.

South Korea is the Philippines’ third-largest import source, accounting for USD 989.72 million or 8.3% of Philippine imports in October this year, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported earlier this month.

Seoul is also the sixth-largest destination of Philippine exports.

Total trade between the two countries hit USD 12 billion last year.

Mr. Balisacan said upon the FTA’s implementation, South Korea will grant preferential duty-free entry on 11,164 Philippine products worth USD 3.18 billion.

These products account for 87.4% of total South Korean imports from the Philippines, he added.

Mr. Balisacan said the Philippines-South Korea FTA will help Manila address its lagging trade competitiveness in the region and “secure more preferential concessions” than those currently available under the ASEAN-Korea FTA and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, which is touted as the world’s largest FTA.

The FTA was signed by the two countries on the sidelines of the 43^rd ASEAN Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia in September 2023. The Philippine Senate ratified the deal in September this year, while South Korea’s National Assembly gave the greenlight last month.

Meanwhile, the NEDA Board, chaired by President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., also greenlit the National Irrigation Administration’s P37.5-billion Ilocos Norte-Ilocos Sur-Abra Irrigation Project, which is “set to improve agricultural output and water management across the three provinces,” according to Mr. Balisacan.

The project, which will irrigate agricultural lands up to 14,672 hectares during the wet season and 13,256 hectares during the dry season, includes the construction of an earth and rockfill dam across the Palsiguan River in Abra, an afterbay dam in Nueva Era in Ilocos Norte, and various linked irrigation canals serving as major irrigation systems.

“Additionally, the project plans to incorporate renewable energy components, such as hydroelectric power plants and a solar power farm, through a public-private partnership,” the NEDA said. 

The Board also approved the Department of Public Works and Highways’ (DPWH) P25.7-billion Accelerated Bridge Construction Project for Greater Economic Mobility and Calamity Response, which aims to improve connectivity and disaster resilience by constructing 29 bridges nationwide. 

The project, which is funded by official development assistance loan from the French government, is divided into two components, with the first one comprising seven long bridges and scheduled for implementation from January 2025 to December 2029.

The second component, which consists of 22 calamity response bridges, will be implemented from January 2025 to December 2027.

Meanwhile, the NEDA Board approved adjustments to various parameters of five ongoing projects, namely:

• Value Chain Innovation for Sustainable Transformation in Agrarian Reform Communities of the Department of Agrarian Reform; 

• Health System Enhancement to Address and Limit COVID-19 Project of the Department of Health;

• Panglao-Tagbilaran City Offshore Bridge Connector Project of the DPWH; 

• Metro Manila Interchange Construction Project, Phase VI of the DPWH; and 

• North-South Commuter Railway System Project – Malolos-Clark Railway Project, Tranche 1 of the Department of Transportation.

The projects saw changes in project scope, cost, partial loan cancellation, and extensions of the implementation period and loan validity.

Also, the NEDA reported the completion of the Arterial Road Bypass Project Phase III (Plaridel Bypass) and the Panguil Bay Bridge. 

“Through these investment and infrastructure initiatives, we are advancing connectivity to enhance economic opportunities and ensure that progress reaches all regions of the country,” Mr. Balisacan said. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza