Being a third-world country remains to be one of the most competitive in Asia in terms of developing infrastructure. According to the World Bank, the Philippines is proposing to allocate 24% of its 2020 budget to the development of infrastructure. The focus of the government on the betterment of that area is rightfully guided. Roads, bridges, waterways, electrical wiring, etc. are important for supporting all kinds of business processes and social services. So, what are the different kinds of infrastructure?
Roads and Bridges
The first example is roads. Roads allow businesses to efficiently deliver goods and services either to households or other businesses. Another benefit is the capabilities it provides to society. Especially in emergencies, roads are essential to public services like ambulances or fire trucks.
The importance of roads is apparent, but what are the issues that surround it? The Philippines is showing an impressive effort in improving its infrastructure. It is still not keeping up with the dense population in certain urban areas. The failure to adjust to the population results in congestion and a lot of time wasted for transportation.
Public Transportation
Possibly one of the most overlooked means of travel is our own public transport. A lot of the effort in developing infrastructure goes to building longer and bigger bridges to connect far places to one another. But no matter how convenient roads can be, the Philippines tends to focus on infrastructure more centered on private transportation.
Public transportation could serve several people at a time while also being affordable to all. In terms of the environment, mass transit shows to be more eco-friendly. Simply because we would be transporting a much larger amount of people. Another example of the efficiency of public transport is how it benefits the economy. Having more buses and trains, the country would shorten the time for transport since the roads would become less congested. Investing in mass transit is important as it has the power to manage the ever-growing population.
Water & Sewage
According to the Manila Times, water shortages can still be felt by 1.2 billion people in the world as of September 2020. In the Philippines, only 35 percent of the population receives water transported through pipes. Aside from the effects on the environment, people cannot live without water either. We need it for our bodies and maintaining good hygiene through sewage systems.
With rapid industrialization and population growth, surrounding bodies of water are heavily polluted which could contribute to diseases. Clearly, the maintenance of our water infrastructures is also heavily reliant on how we take care of the water we have. Measures to protect such an important resource should be considered with the heavy investment in the overall infrastructure.
Communication
Many can agree that communication is what truly defines the 21st century. Specifically the addition of the internet. The technological age also gave way to more development to that specific infrastructure, which led not only to better internet connection but also a wider range. Being offline seems synonymous with being invisible nowadays. According to ABS-CBN, the Philippines’ internet speed tripled in 2020, but we still manage to lag behind our neighbors. The infrastructure of communication seems to heavily depend on the effort of the private businesses that provide the service.
Electric
Related to communication is the generation of electricity. It is essential to power cities and, of course, allowing for communication to take place. Not only that, but electricity is used to power the tools that create the very infrastructures the country needs. Although the Philippines has a relatively accessible electric infrastructure, the quality is poor considering how expensive electricity rates are.
The Philippines is also still heavily reliant on coal energy to provide for its electrical usage and General Electric expects this dependency to rise over the next 20 years. The usage of coal is a trademark for any growing economy. For example, the United States also had a boom in their usage of coal back in the Industrial Age. Although coal is the cheapest source of energy, it is also extremely bad for the environment. Aside from releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, burning coal also emits dangerous carcinogenic substances into the air which could then make its way into surrounding communities.
Tunnels
Tunnels provide passageways for both public and private transport. Some tunnels are deep underground to support transport like subways. Some tunnels also make way for roads by cutting into a mountain, but the main function of tunnels is to make a passage through something in order to speed up the journey.
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