The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Investment Coordination Committee–Cabinet Committee (ICC-CabCom) approved on December 6, 2017, the extension of loan validity and the construction period of two projects in the Visayas region.
Citing the need to recoup the time lost due to procurement delays and security issues, the NEDA ICC-CabCom approved the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)’s request to extend by 24 months the validity of the loan for the Korean loan-assisted Samar Pacific Coastal Project. Also, the ICC-CabCom approved the changes in the project’s scope and construction period.
The Samar Pacific Coastal Road, which costs PhP1.03 billion, is a 109.3-kilometer road under the Arterial Road Network, which will link towns facing the Pacific and eventually complete the circumferential loop for Samar Island.
DPWH has requested the loan validity to be extended from January 18, 2018, to January 17, 2020, and the implementation duration and schedule to be revised to January 2018 – December 2019, for the remaining works.
Similarly, the ICC-CabCom also approved the request of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) to extend by 46 months the validity of the loan for the second stage of another Korean-assisted project, the Jalaur River Multi-purpose Project (JRMP).
The loan validity for said project was extended from May 28, 2018, to March 28, 2022. The new project completion schedule was likewise extended from November 28, 2017, to September 28, 2021.
The JRMP, which costs PhP11.21 billion, involves the construction of dam and irrigation facilities, including a high dam and reservoir with afterbay and catch dams in Iloilo and its neighboring towns.
The ICC-CabCom, co-chaired by the Department of Finance (DOF) and NEDA, also discussed and noted the Department of Transportation/ Philippine Coast Guard’s report on the comparative analysis of lease and purchase options for the Maritime Disaster Response Helicopter Acquisition.
The following projects were also discussed, for notation: (1) DA-Philippine Fisheries Development Authority proposal to review the third phase of the Nationwide Fish Ports Project as five separate projects; (2) DPWH proposal on project cost breakdown adjustments for the Metro Manila Flood Management Project (MMFMP) – Phase 1, and lastly; (3) the Fuel Marking Program under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion of the DOF. (NEDA)
