Infrastructure budget to decline as gov’t counts on more PPPs

THE infrastructure budget could fall slightly next year with the government counting on public-private partnerships (PPPs) to play a bigger role in funding, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said.

For 2025, the proposed budget for infrastructure is P1.507 trillion, down 0.3% from funding levels in 2024.

The final infrastructure budget is still subject to approval from Congress. Senators are currently preparing their version of the General Appropriations Bill.

“While (next year’s budget) is 0.3% lower than this year’s infrastructure budget of P1.510 trillion, the National Government (NG) anticipates that this will be bolstered by the increase in private sector investment through the recent enactment of the PPP Code and the issuance of its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR),” the DBM said.

Republic Act No. 11966 or the PPP Code streamlined the framework for all PPPs at the national and local levels. Its IRR became effective on April 6.

The DBM also noted that the bulk of the 170 PPP projects in the pipeline are infrastructure-related.

Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman noted that infrastructure development will remain a key priority of the administration, which is consistent with the government’s medium-term fiscal framework.

The government’s P1.51 trillion allocation for infrastructure this year is equivalent to 5.7% of gross domestic product (GDP).

This budget also covers subsidy or equity components for state-owned corporations and transfers to local government units, the DBM said.

In the first six months of the year, the NG’s infrastructure spending jumped 12.5% year on year to P124.9 billion.

The government aims to spend 5-6% of GDP annually for infrastructure through 2028. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz