(UPDATE) FOLLOWING the approval of seven high-impact projects this week, the government is eyeing at least 206 'big-ticket' projects for 2023 to expand President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr.'s infrastructure pipeline, Malacañang said on Saturday.

Presidential Communications Secretary Cheloy Garafil said the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), headed by the President, 'would come up with a final list of major projects under the Marcos administration at the end of the first quarter of 2023.'

Garafil made the statement following the initial release of seven high-impact projects, which include the establishment of a 300-bed capacity University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital Cancer Center, the first Public Private Partnership (PPP) project under the Marcos administration.

In a press briefing on Saturday, NEDA Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon said the agency is currently 'vetting a long list of projects,' adding that the government is eyeing 3,000 projects until 2028.

'So far, about 206 are on the list now. And that's just for what we call flagship. That could still be trimmed down, depending on the, that's what we're looking at is their viability,' Edillon said in English and Filipino.

'The benefits versus the cost, of course. Because that longer list, these are those 3,000 projects, all the way to 2028. But, like I said, that list, we will come up with it, it will be uploaded again on the NEDA website by the end of this first quarter,' she added.

The NEDA official said the proposed government projects would be funded through various schemes such as PPP, grants and government allocation.

'It will still be a mix. So there are still many that will be ODA-funded. So, like that of MRT 3, that of communications, that of flood resilience, those are also what those are, some of these will still be ODA [official development assistance]-funded,' Edillon said.

Edillon said, however, they will also see if these projects could be designed as PPP, 'meaning a project that the private sector will find to be 'profitable, viable as a commercial endeavor.'

She said in this way, government resources could be 'freed up for social projects that the private sector won't usually invest in.'

In implementing PPP projects, Edillon said the administration will focus on solicited PPPs, or those well-crafted and vetted projects, which could help the government achieve its targets of economic growth, increased employment and poverty reduction.

Apart from the UP-PGH cancer center, the NEDA Board also approved the increase in the cost of the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) rehabilitation project, the utilization of the Japan International Cooperation Agency loan balance for the new Communications, Navigation, Surveillance-Air Traffic Management system, and the construction of new Dumaguete Airport Development Project.

Other projects approved or confirmed by the NEDA board include the Department of Agriculture's Mindanao Inclusive Agriculture Development Project and the Department of Public Works and Highways' P20-billion first phase of the Integrated Flood Resilience and adaptation project in three major river basins in the country.

On Friday, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said the approval of the 'high-impact' projects will play an important factor in attaining the Marcos government's economic development agenda.

'In line with the strategies identified under the Philippine Development Plan 2023 to 2028, the approval of these high-impact projects is a manifestation of the Marcos administration's strong commitment to improving the quality of life of the Filipino people,' Balisacan told reporters during a Palace briefing.

'In the next six years, we can look forward to seeing more of our agencies and sectors working hand in hand toward creating a prosperous, inclusive, and resilient society,' he added.