NEDA says investment body could meet in Jan.

AFTER the cancellation of an Investment Coordination Committee (ICC) Cabinet Committee meeting set for Dec. 1, the next one could be set for the second week of January with eight projects awaiting approval, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

“Maybe second week of January,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia told BusinessWorld on the sidelines of a briefing.

The ICC is an interagency committee which evaluates the fiscal, monetary and balance of payments implications of major national projects and makes recommendations to the President on how the projects are to be implemented.

The ICC Secretariat, in an e-mail, said the following projects are awaiting ICC-CC deliberations:

• The 100-megawatt Isabela Coal Mine and Power Plant (formerly 50 MW Isabela Coal Mine-Mouth Power Plant) under the Department of Energy (DoE) and Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) with an estimated cost of P11.52027 billion.

• The Integrated Flood Control, Coastal Defense, and Expressway Project of Manila Bay of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) with an estimated cost of P5.03454 billion. The project is intended to protect the bay region from storm surges, among other hazards. 

• The North-South Railway Project (NSRP)-South Line of the Department of Transportation (DoTr) with an estimated cost of P170.699 billion.

• The proposed One-Year and Six-Months Loan Extension, Reallocation of Loan Proceeds, Increase in Loan Financing Percentage for Civil Works and Consulting Services, And Revision in the Results Framework and Appraisal Document for the Participatory Irrigation Development Project (PIDP) of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) with an estimated cost of P5.111 billion.

• The East-West Rail Project of the Philippine National Railways with an estimated cost of P46.439 billion.

• The Local Government Unit Investment Programme Supplement III (LIP III) of the Land Bank of the Philippines with an estimated cost of P231.210 million

• The Proposed One-Year Extension of Implementation Period and Validity Period for the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) Loans of the Agrarian Reforms Communities Project II (ARCP II) of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) with an estimated cost of P8.647 billion.

• The proposed Loan Cancellation of the Market Transformation Through The Introduction of Energy Efficient Electric Vehicles of the DoE with an estimated cost of P21.5 billion

Meanwhile, two projects awaiting deliberations at the ICC-Technical Board level are:

• The Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 1 North Extension Common Station of the DoTr with an estimated cost of P1.39965 billion.

• The Maritime Disaster Response Helicopter Acquisition of the DoTr and the Philippine Coast Guard with an estimated cost of P5.62954 billion.

Finally, the Philippine Travel Center Complex Project under the Department of Tourism Intramuros Administration costing an estimate of P1.75 billion is still pending for NEDA Board approval.

“Usually, whatever the ICC proposes to the NEDA Board, they will all be approved,” said Mr. Pernia.

To date, 17 projects have been approved by the NEDA Board since June this year. -- Danica M. Uy