The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) reported that infrastructure spending rose in the first two months of the year due to road projects and defense modernization program.
Total infrastructure and other capital outlays of the national government amounted to P120.5 billion from January to February this year, up 6.7 percent from the same period last year’s P113 billion.
DBM said the increase can be attributed to the higher disbursements made by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Department of National Defense for their respective road infrastructure and modernization projects.
The DPWH, meanwhile, attributed its strong spending performance to several factors.
These include the prompt processing and payment of accounts payables, the payment of mobilization fees/advances to contractors for projects under the 2024 budget, monitoring the physical and financial accomplishments of their implementing offices nationwide, and fast-tracking the implementation and completion of carryover projects.
However, the growth of infrastructure spending was curtailed due to lower cash receipts following the direct payments made by the Asian Development Bank, amounting to P10.1 billion in February 2023, for the Department of Transportation’s South Commuter Railway Project 1.
Infrastructure spending program in the 2024 budget has been raised to P1.510 trillion from P1.330 trillion in the 2023 national budget