House OKs CIP plan •Matching funds identified for $23M worth of gov’t projects

In a bid to jump-start the sluggish economy, the House of Representatives yesterday set in motion a plan of the CNMI government to tap millions of dollars in federal funding after members passed a legislation to appropriate close to $23 million for Capital Improvement Projects.

This represents the first batch of projects under a recently drafted CIP master plan outlining 50 priority projects on Saipan, Tinian and Rota which will cost about $154 million over a seven-year period.

House Bill 11-380, filed by Ways and Means Committee chair Rep. Karl T. Reyes, has identified some $11.46 million from local revenues to match an equal amount provided by the federal government to finance the massive infrastructure development in the commonwealth.

The bulk of these funds will come from bond interest and income as well as loan repayment handled by the Commonwealth Development Authority, while the rest will be sourced from local infrastructure tax, poker revenues and public land lease.

Proposed projects to get financing include the new landfill in Marpi, a new prison and improvement of existing jail facility, the Chinatown sewage system, road improvement at Saipan International Airport, several youth centers and the long-delayed completion of Marianas High School gymnasium.

A planned expansion of the heath center on Rota and a new police and fire station on Tinian will also receive funding boost, according to the House measure. It now heads to the Senate for action.

According to Reyes, construction of these projects will start as soon as Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio signs the bill into law, while other appropriation bills will be introduced within the next few weeks.

“We are hoping something could happen this month,” he told in an interview after the session.

Considered crucial by the Tenorio administration in light of the worsening economic crisis, the bill’s passage however is underscored by a recent proposal in Washington that will reduce its financial aid to the CNMI.

The Clinton administration is seeking a 51 percent cut in the CIP funds beginning fiscal year 2000 due to failure by the CNMI government to meet the matching requirement — a move that has drawn protest from local officials.

Island leaders have pinned hopes on the $154 million funds guaranteed in the Covenant to revitalize the economy, but the money has been left idle in a New York bank since 1995 largely due to this stringent requirement.

Washington has committed to allot $11 million each year beginning in 1996 until 2002 to the CNMI provided the island government sets aside a dollar-for-dollar matching from its own coffers.

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.

Finance officials maintain more than $300 million are expected to be funneled into the economy in both direct and indirect contributions once these CIP funds are used by the government.