$24M CIP projects OK’d

The House of Representatives passed on Friday the administration-sponsored appropriation bill for a new batch of Capital Improvement Projects, changing only one provision so that it will waive a requirement for each local delegation to set aside municipal funds for respective projects.

The amendment in effect will remove a layer of bureaucracy in the allocation of funds, helping fast-track the use of the CIP money, which has been left idle for the last three years due to inability of the CNMI government to meet the matching requirement on federal grants.

Submitted by administration officials a day before the House session, House Bill 11-408 will finance priority infrastructure plans on the island — including pet projects by lawmakers — estimated to cost more than $24 million which will be drawn from both local and federal coffers.

It now heads to the Senate for action where it is expected to go through in-depth review on the heels of a dispute on the initial CIP appropriation bill, part of which was vetoed by Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio for fear it would compromise the integrity of the master plan.

But Senate Vice President Thomas P. Villagomez said he sees no obstacle in passing the bill in the upper house, noting that there was “less communication” between the Legislature and the governor on the first measure.

“If this is the governor’s submission without any changes from the House, then I believe the Senate will support it,” he said.

Senators were dismayed after Tenorio line-item vetoed some of the provisions on the initial bill, leaving only the proposed prison project and the completion of the Marianas High School Gymnasium as beneficiaries of the first CIP money.

Some projects, such as the expansion of the Rota airport runway as well as improvement of the Tinian airport, that were inserted by senators at the last minute were shelved because they were not part of the master plan.

But HB 11-408, a supplemental to Public Law 11-78 that set aside funds for the new prison and the gym, has reinstated funding for these projects in an apparent effort to please legislators, adding them into the final list so that they would be eligible to receive federal assistance.

As a result, the proposal will increase the total appropriation by more than $1 million from the $22.9 million earlier allocated by the Legislature, cutting into the share of the first phase of the prison construction which will be reduced by some 20 percent to $7.03 million.

Additional funds, however, will come from public land lease payments that will be set aside for various homestead projects included in the CIP master plan, including utility projects in Koblerville and Tanapag.

Some $12.1 million from local sources, such as developer’s infrastructure tax and poker fees, have been identified by the island government to meet the dollar-for-dollar matching requirement under the CIP agreement, for a total of $24.2 million.

This represents a portion of the $154 million provided in the entire package, half of which will be made available by Washington until 2002 on condition that the CNMI sets aside equal amount.

The master plan mapping out 50 priority projects on Saipan, Tinian and Rota is intended to fast-track use of the federal grants in view of recent attempts in the US Congress to slash its aid to the CNMI due to failure to spend the money.

Island officials also hope the CIP money would help spur the local economy by funneling funds into various infrastructure projects which are viewed as their only ray of light amid continuos decline in tourist arrivals as well as anticipated slowdown in garment manufacturing due to the recent $1 billion lawsuits.

The Northern Marianas is reeling from its worst crisis in years spawned by the prolonged recession in Asia, its main tourism market and source of investments.