NEDA BOARD CONFIRMS NAIA EXPRESSWAY PROJECT, WASTE WATER MANAGEMENT PROGRAM Both responsive to PHL Dev’t Plan, says Balisacan

MANILA—The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board on May 30 confirmed a project to be implemented through public-private partnership (PPP) and a framework program that would help cities manage waste water.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said that the second phase of the NAIA Expressway Project, as well as the National Sewerage and Septage Management Program (NSSMP), were both confirmed by the NEDA Board. He noted that these are consistent with the Philippine Development Plan 2011-2016.

“The NAIA Expressway project is responsive to our medium-term goal of developing an integrated multimodal logistics and transport system. It also complements the Master Plan of the Manila International Airport Authority,” said Balisacan, who is also NEDA director-general.

The NAIA Expressway project, which was earlier approved by the NEDA-Investment Coordination Committee (ICC), aims to provide easy access to and from the three NAIA terminals, as well as interconnect the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX)/Skyway with the Manila-Cavite Toll Expressway in Roxas Boulevard, Macapagal Boulevard, and the proposed PAGCOR Entertainment City.

The ICC, which is one of the seven interagency committees of the NEDA Board, evaluates the fiscal, monetary and balance-of-payments implications of major national projects. The ICC’s powers and functions reside in its CabCom, which is headed by the Secretary of Finance.

The PhP15.86-billion PPP project involves the construction of a 4.83-kilometer viaduct from the terminus of the existing NAIA Expressway Phase 1 to the PAGCOR Entertainment City, an interchange in the said entertainment complex and Roxas and Macapagal Boulevards, as well as toll plazas and on-and off-ramps at strategic locations, among others.

Also, PhP14.72 billion of the project’s total cost will be funded by the private partner, and the rest through government financing, with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) as the lead agency.

Meanwhile, the NSSMP aims to increase the number of sewerage and septage management systems outside Metro Manila by 2020.

“This program helps achieve the Plan’s strategy of improving public health and promoting a sustainable environment. It also enhances the ability of local implementers to build and operate septage and sewage treatment systems for urban centers,” Balisacan said.

In the program, capital cost for septage management is estimated to range from PhP4 million to PhP71 million per project and per local government unit (LGU), or a total of PhP12.3 billion for all the septage management undertakings. On the other hand, capital costs for sewerage systems are estimated at PhP820 million per highly urbanized city (HUC) at PhP410 million per phase or a total of PhP14 billion for 17 HUCs.

Total capital costs for both septage management and sewerage systems are estimated at PhP26.3 billion. The LGU or local water districts shall shoulder cost for all septage management programs, while a 40-60 percent cost sharing for the sewerage systems shall be implemented (40% from the national government, 60% between HUCs and water districts). The 40% NG capital cost share, estimated to be about PhP5.6 billion, will be spread until 2020.

The NSSMP was earlier approved by the NEDA-InfraCom, and the NEDA Board on May 30 confirmed the approval.

The InfraCom is another interagency committee under the NEDA Board that recommends government policies, programs and projects concerning infrastructure development. The Socioeconomic Planning Secretary chairs the InfraCom, while the DPWH Secretary sits as co-chair.

The NEDA Board, chaired by President Benigno S. Aquino III and with Balisacan as vice chair, is the country’s highest development planning and policy coordinating body. It comprises various Cabinet Secretaries, the President of the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP), the Governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and the Deputy Governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

MR No. 2012-044
03 June 2012