STATE infrastructure spending in August surged by 60.2 percent year-on-year to P70.9 billion on the back of implementation of various projects.
Latest data from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) showed the government disbursed more on infrastructure and other capital outlays in August this year compared to the same month in 2020 when it spent P44.3 billion.
The pickup in infrastructure spending was also one of the main growth drivers of overall government spending during the month.
Overall government spending in August hit P380.2 billion, rising by 34.2 percent from P283.3 billion in the same period a year ago.
“Infrastructure and other capital expenditures will continue to drive government disbursements for the remaining months as payables for completed and partially completed infrastructure activities become due and demandable, alongside the regular operating expenditures of various line departments,” the DBM said in its report.
Among the infrastructure projects that were implemented were various road infrastructure projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways such as construction/completion/repair/rehabilitation/improvement of government buildings, access, by-pass, and diversion roads, bridges, flood mitigation structures and drainage systems and aviation sector infrastructure projects of the Department of Transportation in particular the Tacloban, Kalibo, and Bukidnon Airport Projects.
Apart from these, projects under the Revised AFP Modernization Program of the Department of National Defense; and capital outlay projects of State Universities and Colleges such as the Smart Campuses Program were also implemented.
For January to August, state infrastructure spending also jumped by 44.6 percent to P570.4 billion from last year’s P394.5 billion. Mainly due to higher infrastructure spending, overall government spending also picked up by 10.9 percent to P2.96 trillion from P2.67 trillion in the same eight-month
period in 2020.
For this year, the government has programmed to increase its spending for infrastructure to P1.019 trillion, equivalent to 5.1 percent of the country’s GDP.
Last year, it spent P869.5 billion on infrastructure, or 4.8 percent of the country’s GDP.
The Cabinet-level Development Budget Coordination Committee also further raised the infrastructure program to P1.29 trillion in 2022. It will then slightly taper off to P1.28 trillion in 2023 following the updated projections for the National Tax Allotment and the block grant to the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao before reaching P1.35 trillion in 2024.
Image courtesy of Nonie Reyes
Read full article on BusinessMirror
