Transport projects
GOVERNMENT authorities would do well to ensure that a critical mass of investments will go to the countryside, which is being abandoned by more and more residents.
Of course, we cannot blame these Filipinos for leaving their homes to look for greener pastures overseas or in urban centers, like Metropolitan Manila, throughout the Philippines,
Now, we see a government giving priority to countryside invesments to stimulate the economy, which was ravaged by the two-year coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
But first concerned government authorities must fund more transport infrastructure projects to address the problems of “connectivity and efficient mobility” across the country.
That’s why it is heartening to know that the government will continue to tap the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to open “opportunities for equitable progress amd growth for business, investment, tourism and employment.”
At present, there are nine agreements between the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the ADB that will fund transport infrastructure projects.
Worth P1.2 trillion, the projects are in the aviation, railways and road sectors.
ADB-funded projects include the North-South Commuter Railway, MRT-4, Davao Public Transport Modernization Project, and EDSA Greenways Project, said DOTr Secretary Jaime Bautista.
Bautista said “we are optimistic that the ADB would apprreciate the investment prospects in the Philippines.”
Admittedly, these ADB-funded multi-pronged transport infrastructure projects are seen to boost the country’s economic growth and address the social needs of the Filipino people.
