A CABINET-LEVEL body has approved P71.35 billion worth of flood-control and bridge projects as well as one that aims to enhance the productivity of micro, small- and medium-scale enterprises (MSMEs), the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said on Tuesday.

NEDA said in a statement that its Investment Coordination Committee-Cabinet Committee — co-chaired by Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia — approved the projects at its March 8 meeting, endorsing them for confirmation by the NEDA Board led by President Rodrigo R. Duterte.

Approved were:

• construction of P39.2 billion worth of dikes and floodgates along the Ambal-Simuay River and Rio Grande de Mindanao;

• the remaining 10 priority bridges crossing Pasig-Marikina River and Manggahan Floodway worth P27.37 billion (the first two — the Binondo-Intramuros and Estrella-Pantaleon bridges — with a total cost of P5.98 billion and funded by a China grant was approved by the NEDA Board on Sept. 12 last year);

• and the P4.78-billion Rural Agro-Enterprise Partnership for Inclusive Development and Growth Project (RAPID Growth) designed to improve productivity of 78,000 farming households by generating employment opportunities.

The flood-control and the bridge projects form part of the 75 flagship projects of the Duterte administration. — EJCT

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