DAVAO CITY – The National Economic Development Authority (NEDA)-11 is bullish the Davao region’s economy would flourish further in the coming years with the Build, Build, Build Program under President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration.
During Friday’s Kapihan sa PIA, NEDA-Director Ma. Lourdes Lim said NEDA expects a higher Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) from 2017’s 10.9 percent as Build, Build, Build kicks in and create more jobs in the Davao Region.
Lim said the infrastructure spending will transform the economy leading to lower prices of commodities, as transportation facilities become more efficient, including road networks.
She noted that of the 75 flagship projects for the country, 17 are in Mindanao.
Of the 17, four are in Davao region – the Davao Airport Development Operations Maintenance project, the Mindanao Railway project (Tagum-Davao-Digos segment), Davao City Expressway project, and the Asbang Small Reservoir Irrigation Project.
Lim said the Davao Region has been allocated PHP6.65 billion for projects under the Department of Transportation, PHP56 billion for projects under the Department of Public Works and Highways, and PHP370 million under the Department of Energy.
Based on the 2017 Philippine Institute for Development Studies and the 2018 National Budget, Lim said infrastructure spending in the second year of the Duterte administration resulted in 6.3 GDP. In the first year of the Duterte administration, infrastructure spending resulted in 5.4 GDP.
The GDP in the first two years of the Duterte administration was higher compared to the 2.9 GDP of the six years of the administration of President Benigno Aquino III.
Lim said that from 5.4 percent GDP in 2017, the government aims to achieve about 7.3 percent GDP by 2022. (Lilian C. Mellejor/PNA)
