BBB projects restart, job losses temporary

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The Department of Finance (DOF) said several Build Build Build projects have restarted construction activities and will generate much-needed jobs especially during this time of pandemic.

DOF Secretary Carlos Dominguez said at the Sulong Pilipinas virtual briefing yesterday among the projects that have restarted are the North Luzon Expressway Harbor Link, Subic Freeport Expressway, Bonifacio Global City—Ortigas Link Bridge, the Cavite-Laguna Expressway, and the Abusag bridge in Cagayan Valley, as well as other projects.

“The total figures of the projects that have resumed are still being consolidated as of today,” Dominguez said.

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“Prior to the complete resumption of operations, note that the concessionaires, contractors, subcontractors and suppliers are expected to comply with the necessary requirements that include testing, welfare facilities and amenities, ensuring strict compliance to health and safety protocols,” he added.

Dominguez said the Build Build Build program has generated five million jobs from 2016 to 2019.

“As stated by Public Works Secretary Mark Villar, an estimated 1.5 million jobs will be generated from the 2020 budget allocated for infrastructure projects, increasing the jobs generated to 6.57 million by 2020,” he added.

Meanwhile, Dominguez said the record high unemployment rate in April, as recently reported by the Philippine Statistics Authority, is only temporary due to the quarantine measures implemented to minimize the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

“We are not surprised by the figures on employment, but we firmly believe that is temporary, and it will start going down as soon as the economy opens,” he said.

“There’s no structural problem with our economy except that there was a decision made to lock down the economy in order to reduce the potential number of people who would get sick and die,” he added.

Dominguez previously said restarting Build Build Build projects, especially those located in rural areas, will be the best way to revive the economy because of infrastructure spending’s high multiplier effect of raising incomes, stimulating demand and generating new jobs and businesses.

The Build Build Build program will not only rev up the economy, but will also fix the country’s weak infrastructure and logistics network, which has driven up production and operational costs for investors, Dominguez said.

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said 1,525,342 of jobs will be generated from the 2020 budget.

By the end of 2020, a total of 6.57 million jobs will be generated from the BBB program with breakdown from 2016 to 2019; 911,034 jobs in 2016; 1.2 million in 2017; 1.7 million in 2018; and 1.2 million jobs in 2019.

In compliance to the construction safety guidelines released by the DPWH, constructions works for major infrastructure projects resumed last month.

Among the DPWH flagship projects supportive of the traffic decongestion program that has resumed construction are the Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge connecting Mandaluyong and Makati City, the Bonifacio Global City-Ortigas Center Link Road Project which involves the construction of a 440-meter bridge that will connect Lawton Avenue in Makati and Sta. Monica Street in Pasig City, and Binondo-Intramuros Bridge in Manila.

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