With the government carrying a PHP10.6-trillion portfolio of flagship infrastructure projects and an expanding pipeline of proposed investments, economic planners are preparing a single nationwide blueprint to guide which projects should take priority in the years ahead.
Department of Economy, Planning and Development (DEPDev) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan told a Senate budget hearing Monday that completing the Comprehensive Infrastructure Development Master Plan (CIDMP) is among the agency’s priorities for 2027.
“We will complete the Comprehensive Infrastructure Development Master Plan to guide strategic infrastructure investments nationwide,” Balisacan said.
The master plan is envisioned as an integrated framework for infrastructure planning rather than leaving individual projects to be considered separately by agencies and successive administrations.
Under Republic Act No. 12145, or the Economy, Planning and Development Act, government agencies are required to submit sectoral infrastructure master plans to DEPDev, which will be consolidated and vetted through the Infrastructure Development Committee into the CIDMP.
The law provides that the master plan will serve as the foundation for forward planning and prioritization of infrastructure investments, and must be updated when necessary to respond to emergencies, technological changes and emerging trends.
The task comes as the volume of projects competing for government resources continues to grow.
Balisacan said programs and projects submitted under the Public Investment Program increased from 3,219 worth PHP3.43 trillion in 2023, to 4,240 worth PHP4.71 trillion in 2025.
DEPDev is also monitoring 209 infrastructure flagship projects with a combined value of PHP10.6 trillion, including 80 projects worth PHP5.8 trillion financed through official development assistance.
The department appraised 267 national and regional programs and projects during the period covered by its presentation, with Balisacan saying 98.9 percent of the appraisals were completed within prescribed timelines.
For 2027, DEPDev and its attached agencies have a proposed PHP18.474-billion budget, of which PHP2.721 billion is allotted to the department’s Office of the Secretary.
Aside from completing the infrastructure blueprint, DEPDev plans to update the country’s long-term development vision, implement program convergence budgeting and strengthen local governments’ capacity for planning and investment programming.
The CIDMP mandate comes as Congress is also considering proposals to institutionalize long-term infrastructure planning across administrations through the proposed Masterplan for Infrastructure and National Development Act. (PNA)
