GMA Brandtalk
Tracking
Archives
BCDA chief says 'Build, Build, Build' not a failure but gov’t can do more
Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) president Vince Dizon on Wednesday took exception to the view of Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon that the government’s infrastructure program is a dismal failure.
Dizon said in a news conference that the Duterte government has already spent around P1 trillion for infrastructure even as he admitted that the administration can do more by building projects as fast as possible.
“Is Build, Build, Build a failure? Absolutely not, and the number speaks for themselves. Construction is up; public spending on infrastructure is up, and this has led to faster economic growth,” said Dizon, who is also the Presidential Adviser for Flagship Programs and Projects.
“Are we doing enough? And we feel that we are not. We need to push for some more. We need to get more projects off the ground. We need to build more momentum.”
Malacañang called Drilon’s claim “baseless” and said the government has many projects that are at various stages of development.
“Build, Build, Build never promised that we would complete all these infrastructure projects in 5 or 6 years – that’s impossible. But what we promised is number one, we will start,” Dizon said.
The government recently revised its Build, Build, Build list which now covers 100 projects. The administration initially had 75 flagship infrastructure projects, but scrapped several items due to feasibility issues.
The updated list covers flagship infrastructure projects under five categories, namely, transport and mobility; power; water; information and communications technology; and urban development and renewal.
The list, which will be forwarded to lawmakers, was jointly approved by the Investment Coordination Committee – Cabinet Committee (ICC-CabCom) and the Committee on Infrastructure (INFRACOM) on November 6.
“It's the halfway term of the President and we want to be able to do more and we want to be able to fast track and even speed up the infrastructure program in the second half of the term of the President, and we wanted to rationalize,” Dizon said of the decision to revise the list.
“Because you know, infrastructure projects are not easy to do. They require a lot of planning; they require long and very tedious feasibility studies; detailed planning and it takes time.”
Of the 100 projects, 35 were undergoing construction, 32 will commence construction in six to eight months, 21 were at the advanced stages of government and 12 were at the advanced stages of feasibility studies.
Dizon said 38 projects will be finished by the end of the administration’s term, 22 will be substantially completed and 40 will most likely be completed beyond 2022. —KBK, GMA News
