The Department of Finance (DOF) said a third of the national government’s (NG) infrastructure flagship projects (IFPs) would be implemented in the Visayas with an estimated total cost of P1.7 trillion.
Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said some 65 IFPs are located in Visayas, about 33.5 percent of the state’s 194 “high-impact” IFPs nationwide.
Diokno said the IFPs in Visayas include the Cebu Public Transport Modernization Project, the Metro Cebu Expressway, the Panay-Guimaras-Negros Inter-Island Link Bridge, the Samar Pacific Coastal Road Project, and the New Dumaguete Airport Development Project.
“With its high multiplier effects, infrastructure investments will help reduce energy costs, ensure water security, and improve access to people, goods, services, and information,” Diokno said during the Philippine Economic Briefing in Cebu on Friday.
Diokno cited Cebu’s contribution to the country’s overall tourism industry, noting the province’s “potential to become a major player in the arena of sustainable tourism.”
“The award-winning Mactan-Cebu International Airport serves as the main gateway to the Southern Philippines, with a capacity of up to 11 million passengers per year,” he said.
“More impressively, it is also the country’s first solar-powered airport and bans single-use plastics among its concessionaires,” he added.
The finance chief pointed out that the opening of the largest National Museum of the Philippines in Visayas in Cebu would further boost the province’s and the region’s tourism industries.
“This landmark is an exciting new addition to the long list of reasons to visit this part of the country and experience the many wonders it has to offer,” Diokno said.