ON Wednesday, the 16th National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board Meeting was held at Malacañang where various projects in infrastructure, agriculture and transportation were approved.
Among those approved by the NEDA Board was the Infrastructure for Safer and Resilient Schools Project worth over thirty billion pesos (PhP30.56-billion).
This aims to rehabilitate and reconstruct school facilities outside Metro Manila that have been damaged by calamities.
The project, which will be financed by an official development assistance (ODA) loan from the World Bank-International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, will be implemented by the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
Of the PhP30.56 billion total project cost, PhP27.50 billion will come from loan proceeds while PhP3.06 billion will be counterpart funds from the national government.
The Infrastructure for Safer and Resilient Schools Project will be implemented from 2025 to 2029.
The project includes the repair, rehabilitation, retrofitting, and reconstruction of school facilities outside the National Capital Region, which were damaged by various disasters between 2019 and 2023.
It is expected to benefit 1,282 schools, 4,756 school buildings, 13,101 classrooms, and 741,038 students.
Project components include “Relatively Simple Works for School Infrastructure Recovery and Operations and Maintenance” with a Php9.65 billion allocation and “Relatively Complex Works for School Infrastructure Recovery” with a Php19.81 billion budget.
Another component will be Project Management, Monitoring, and Evaluation with a Php1.1 billion budget allocation.
The project aims to build strong classrooms especially during calamities to ensure the continuity of the function of the education system and minimize disruptions in learning.
