Duterte gov’t eyes ‘iconic’ infra projects: Diokno

ABS-CBN News Posted at Feb 07 2017 08:12 PM http://news.abs-cbn.com/business/02/07/17/duterte-govt-eyes-iconic-infra-projects-diokno MANILA – The Duterte administration will focus on building “iconic” infrastructure projects to improve the country’s transportation sector, Budget Secretary Ben Diokno said. Diokno said these projects include seaports and airports as well as a 600-kilometer railway system that will connect Tutuban in Manila to Albay and eventually Matnog, Sorsogon. Government is also in talks with China and Japan in building two bridges that will connect Visayas and Mindanao, he said. “We are not going to concentrate on small projects…we’re really looking for iconic, large projects,” he told ANC’s “Beyond Politics.” Diokno said government plans to spend between P8 trillion and P9 trillion, or 5.3 percent of gross domestic product, during President Rodrigo Duterte’s six-year term for infrastructure projects. Duterte earlier promised to take the country’s infrastructure to the “golden age.”