GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews / 5 Nov) — The Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) announced Wednesday funds worth ₱2.2 trillion are needed to finance 236 priority projects across Mindanao to further bolster the development of the island.
Secretary Leo Tereso Magno, MinDA chair, said the agency’s board of directors adopted the rolling list of Mindanao Regional Development Priorities for national funding and support during its 21st board meeting in Pasig City on Tuesday.
In a resolution, the MinDA Board endorsed at least 236 priority infrastructure projects under the Mindanao Investment Program (MIP) for inclusion in the national investment pipeline.
Magno underscored the broader purpose behind the MIP, stressing it connects to the agency’s overarching mission to establish lasting peace and development in Mindanao.
“All the work we do at MinDA, from investment missions to capacity-building and strategic partnerships, is ultimately geared toward sustaining this peace and unlocking the region’s full development potential,” Magno said in a statement.
He noted the MIP is aligned with MinDA’s thrust anchored on the theme “Building a Better Mindanao.”
Of the 236 projects, 196 fall under infrastructure and utilities development, with an indicative cost of ₱1.99 trillion. Economic development accounts for 36 projects worth ₱173.5 billion. Meanwhile, two projects each are listed under development administration and social development, both with indicative costs of ₱590 million and ₱26.5 billion, respectively.
Among the key regional priorities include strengthening Regional Development Council‑X’s drive to make Northern Mindanao an international gateway and industrial‑agri hub, advancing the Mindanao Railway Project Tagum‑Davao‑Digos segment in Davao, developing the San Ramon New Port Project and the Zamboanga Peninsula Integrated Fisheries Development Complex, and upgrading the SOCCSKSARGEN General Hospital to a Level II facility in Surallah, South Cotabato.
MinDA Undersecretary Janet Lopoz said the MIP — a rolling portfolio of Mindanao-wide, inter-regional, and region-specific priority projects — will be endorsed by MinDA for funding, through public investment, public-private partnership (PPP), and Official Development Assistance.
“The Office of the President always looks for a unified recommendation and they expect our submission because MinDA is the mandated agency for Mindanao-wide prioritization and they listen to it,” she said.
Lopez said they launched a redundancy campaign to establish “clarity and consistency of the regions’ collective development needs.”
MinDA was created in 2010 through Republic Act 9996 to “promote, coordinate and facilitate the active and extensive participation of all sectors to effect the socioeconomic development of Mindanao.” (Bong S. Sarmiento / MindaNews)
