BDA, MinDA tackle Bangsamoro economic dev’t. corridor
Spearheaded by the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA), the 4th Mindanao Development Corridor (MinDC) Steering Committee Meeting was held on July 14, 2017 at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Headquarters, Mandaluyong City. Key officials of the Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA) led by BDA chairman Dr. Saffrullah Dipatuan and executive director Mohammad S. Yacob attended to represent the agency in the said steering committee.
In his opening message, MinDA secretary Datu Abul Khayr D. Alonto relates that “MinDC is a spatial strategy for Mindanao that is aligned with the National Spatial Strategy”.
“It aims to boost the competitiveness of Mindanao through infra connectivity, investments, institutional development, environment and human resource and manpower development and guided by the inherent strengths and potentials of a given spatial space”, Sec. Alonto added.
The steering committee meeting aimed to: update the steering committee members on the various initiatives of the MinDC, explore alignment of current programs and projects to MinDC, and identify development gaps in the MinDC that international development partners could support.
MinDC steering committee acts as the oversight group and tackles directions and policy-related concerns. It is initially composed of MinDA, Department of Public Works and Highway (DPWH), Department of Transportation (DOTr), Department of Tourism (DOT), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), Mindanao Business Council (MBC) and BDA.
“From the side of the development partners, it was Asian Development Bank (ADB) who first join MinDC through the establishment of Mindanao economic development corridor and then United States Aid for International Development (USAID) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) follow suit”, said MinDA executive director Janet Mendiola-Lopoz.
MinDC includes three components such as: 1) South-Central Mindanao Development Corridor, 2) Northern Mindanao Development Corridor, and 3) Western Mindanao Development Corridor.
BDA Chairman Dipatuan emphasized that “the Bangsamoro Development Plan is well entrenched in this Mindanao development platform”.
“We want to make sure that Bangsamoro development priorities are included in the MinDC-Joint Planning and Programming”, Dipatuan added.
In this MinDC steering committee, it was agreed that effort on Marawi recovery planning shall in parallel with the effort on Northern Mindanao Development Corridor.
MinDA secretary Alonto reiterated that initiatives leading to the establishment of the Bangsamoro Economic Development Corridor shall kick off effective immediately.
“This puts us in the best position to finally tackle the Bangsamoro Development Plan medium to long term phase (BDP 2) as Bangsamoro economic development corridor is considered as one of the anchor projects in BDP 2”, BDA executive director Yacob stressed.
Other development partners present during the meeting included: European Union (EU), German’s GIZ, Spanish Cooperation Agency (AECID), United Nations Development Program (UNDP), UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Labor Organization (ILO) and International Alert.
