Subic expressway expansion finished by year-end
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:02 AM August 13, 2020SUBIC BAY FREEPORT, Zambales, Philippines — The P1.6-billion infrastructure project to expand Subic Freeport Expressway (SFEx) is 50-percent complete and will be finished by the end of the year, according to the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx) Corp.In a statement, NLEx said the road improvement resumed in mid-May after the lifting of enhanced community quarantine in the area.The 8.2-kilometer SFEx connects this free port to the 94-km Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway, which in turn links to the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway.The SFEx expansion includes adding two expressway lanes, two new spans at the Jadjad and Argonaut bridges, and a new tunnel near the existing one to improve traffic flow and road safety.—Joanna Rose AglibotSource: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1320860/subic-expressway-expansion-finished-by-year-end#ixzz6V3UtXQxF... P51-B airport railway launched
Published August 3, 2020, 10:00 PMby Emmie V. AbadillaProject to generate 38,000 jobsThe country’s first airport railway express service soon starts construction after the government and proponents signed the P50.8-billion contract packages for PNR Clark Phase 2 (Malolos-Clark) segment of the P777.5-billion North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) virtually over the weekend (August 1, 2020).The construction is expected to generate 38,000 new local jobs in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Arthur Tugade led the virtual signing of the contracts, marking the start of civil works for the 53-km extension that will bring passengers from Makati City in Metro Manila to Clark International Airport in Pampanga in just under one hour.The first signing was for the P32.7-billion Contract Package N-04, which covers the civil engineering and building works 6.3 kilometers of the main line and 1.6 kilometers of the depot’s acces... ‘Prudent’ PHL debt policy draws investors
By BusinessMirror | July 23, 2020THE Department of Finance said investors continue to have strong confidence in the country due to its “prudent” debt policy that enabled it to withstand external shocks like the Covid-19 pandemic.In an economic bulletin on Wednesday, Finance Undersecretary and Chief Economist Gil S. Beltran said the country’s external debt dropped to 19.67 percent of gross national income (GNI) as of the end of first quarter of the year from 20.98 percent in the same period in 2019.GNI includes gross domestic product plus net factor income from abroad.For the same period, the external debt as a percent of Goods and Services and Primary Income also dropped to 54.4 percent this year from 54.8 percent last year because of the decline in public sector debt to $38.3 billion from $40.13 billion.“The Philippines’ prudent debt policy has enabled the country to strengthen its defenses against external shocks like the Covid-19 pandemic. This is one o...