Gov't infra spending overshoots program

9-month outlay hits P858 B

- LOUISE MAUREEN SIMEON

The government ramped up infrastructure spending to P858 billion in the first nine months the year, largely to finance rail and road projects, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said.

Based on the latest national government disbursement performance report of the DBM, state infrastructure expenditure and other capital outlays jumped by 19 percent to P857.6 billion from January to September.

The figure is also 15.8 percent higher than the P740.7 billion infrastructure spending program set by the Cabinetlevel Development Budget Coordination Committee for the end-September period.

The DBM attributed the increase to the acceleration of implementation of various infrastructure projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways nationwide.