The Department of Transportation ( DOTr) completed a total of 246 airport projects from 2016 to 2022 under the Duterte administration.
DOTr alone managed to complete three times the previous administration's output of 55 airport projects, confirmed DOTr Assistant Secretary for Aviation and Airports sector Jaime Alberto Melo during the recent Infrastructure Flagship Project 2022 event.
"We completed 140 airport projects from 2016 to 2022 for this administration. If we include our attached agencies, Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA) and Clark, the completed projects are 246 projects, while 70 more are ongoing," he explained.
The projects, done through the DOTr and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), include the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA), Bohol-Panglao International Airport (BPIA), New Clark International Airport (CIA) and the Bicol International Airport (BIA).
Also included were initiatives increasing night-rated airports and installing additional thirteen Communications, Navigation Surveillance/Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) system, ensuring the 100 percent coverage of the airspace of the country.
Meanwhile, the railways sector, has also done a "record breaking number of projects in the last 6 years and committed to finish ongoing ones, such as the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR), according to Undersecretary for Railways Timothy Batan.
"With projects approved, with financing in place, with contracts awarded and construction already ongoing, the DOTr is full steam ahead on the President's and the Build, Build, Build program ushering in the Philippines golden age of infrastructure," he noted.
For its part, the maritime sector completed a total of 579 social tourism and commercial port projects, with 163 projects still ongoing nationwide, according to DOTr Undersecretary for Maritime Adm. George Ursabia.
"It has become our priority to make maritime transport accessible in our archipelago by providing sea transport, reliable sea ports to include even passenger terminal buildings," he pointed out.
So far, "our mission has reached a significant level of accomplishment," Usec. Ursabia added.
For the Road Sector, DOTr Undersecretary for Road and Infrastructure Mark Steven Pastor highlighted the modernization of monitoring facilities to enhance the country's transportation database.
DOTr Toll Regulatory Board Executive Director Atty. Alvin Carullo also reported the TRB has completely evaluated 3 big ticket infrastructure projects - the Pasig River Expressway project, Northern Access Link Expressway (NALEX), and South Luzon Express Way Toll Road 5 project.