Infrastructure binge

The good news is that, with barely seven months left before his term ends, President Aquino is rushing to put in place by the end of the first quarter of next year at least 60 percent of the $7.6 billion in public-works projects planned for 2016.

As investors have cited poor infrastructure as a key deterrent to investing in the country, President recently signed an order to ease access by foreign contractors to deals worth at least P3 billion ($64 million) by allowing them to apply for a permanent license to potentially work on multiple projects instead of having to apply on a per-project basis. This measure is aimed at fast-tracking projects to ensure they meet deadlines.

Delays in government spending earlier this year are expected to have an adverse impact on the economy, with the World Bank forecasting growth will slow to 5.8 percent this year, the weakest since 2011.

The government is thus accelerating projects under its Public-Private Partnership Program.          The public works agency’s budget is almost half of the P766.5 billion in infrastructure spending planned for 2016, which is equal to about 5 percent of gross domestic product. By next year, the government will have completed paving all 7,000 kilometers of national primary roads across the archipelago.

The government has also increased spending on airports, roads and flood-control projects. While the country's competitiveness ranking has improved since 2010, it still lags neighbors like Thailand and Indonesia in infrastructure development.

By the time President Aquino leaves office on June 30, 2016, much of the groundwork for accelerated infrastructure development would already be in place.