One of the main reasons foreign investors hesitate to bring their money into the country, apart from red tape, corruption, and the unstable peace and order situation in certain areas, is poor infrastructure.
That problem is caused in part by the country’s archipelagic character, which makes it extremely difficult—if not exceedingly expensive—to connect the more than 7,000 islands with one another, either through land, sea or air.
But the lack of adequate public infrastructure is now being addressed, with the Department of Public Works and Highways poised to implement this year more than 70,000 major and local projects all over the country with a budget allocation of P890 billion, according to Secretary Manuel Bonoan.
Among these projects is the construction of the P175 billion inter-island bridge that would connect the provinces of Cavite and Bataan.
This is considered a very significant project as it would cut travel time from Manila to Bataan from five hours to about 30 to 40 minutes.
The 32-kilometer four-lane bridge over Manila Bay would link the municipalities of Naic in Cavite and Mariveles in Bataan. The project would be funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
The detailed engineering is now about 70 percent complete, according to the DPWH, with the groundbreaking scheduled within the year.
It is expected to be finished in five years or before the term of the Marcos administration ends in 2028.
Once completed, the bridge would spur economic growth not only in Luzon but in the entire country as well, as it would link two growth areas in the southern part of Metro Manila and the other west of Manila.
The ADB estimates the economic rate of return of the bridge at more than 25 percent. The DPWH says the bridge would be the largest and longest iconic bridge in the country.
Apart from this, the DPWH will also supervise this year the groundbreaking of six bridges that will be constructed across Pasig River. Three of the bridges would be funded by the ADB while the other three would be funded through an ODA loan from China.
We are glad the administration is accelerating infrastructure development at this time when the challenge is to revive the economy that has yet to fully recover from the COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions in the past three years.
The public-private partnership scheme is now being given priority by the Marcos administration as it gives the private sector an active role in building more public infrastructure.
With more infrastructure, we will encourage not just foreign but also local investments to work in tandem to propel sustained economic growth in the years ahead.
