PH, Japan to ink $202-M loan deal
Credit to Author: MAYVELIN U. CARABALLO, TMT| Date: Sun, 09 Jun 2019 16:15:48 +0000
THE Philippines is expected to sign a $202.04-million infrastructure loan agreement with Japan on the sidelines of a high-level joint committee meeting between the two countries on June 18, the Department of Finance (DoF) announced on Sunday.
In a statement, the Finance department said the deal was for the Road Network Development Project in Conflict-Affected Areas in Mindanao, which involves building, rehabilitating and improving the 178.43-kilometer road network in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and neighboring regions.
It was aimed to revitalize the local economy of Mindanao’s conflict-hit areas and reduce poverty.
The Japanese government pledged its commitment to provide a yen loan for the project on January 18.
Acknowledging that decades of conflict had slowed down Mindanao’s socioeconomic development, the Japanese embassy in Manila said the road project sought to foster economic activity, ensure smooth commodity flow and improve the region’s accessibility.
“The project will construct and improve access roads to arterial roads linking the main cities of Mindanao, thereby contributing to the revitalization of the regional economy, the reduction of poverty and the consolidation of peace in conflict-affected areas in Mindanao,” it said in an earlier statement.
“This project will contribute to improve logistics, stimulate economic activity and strengthen access to the region with the construction and refurbishment of roads and bridges in the conflict-affected areas of Mindanao,” the embassy added.
Meeting
The DoF also said that during the June 18 meeting, Philippine and Japanese officials would resume discussions on the progress of Japan-funded infrastructure projects under the government’s “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure program and other areas of economic cooperation between Manila and Tokyo.
It announced that Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia would again lead the Philippine side , while Hiroto Izumi, a special advisor to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, is expected to head the Japanese delegation.
The meeting, to be held at New Clark City in Pampanga province, would be the eigth held by the high-level joint committee since it was first convened in March 2017 as part of the Duterte administration’s efforts to fast-track the rollout of its 75 big-ticket projects under “Build, Build, Build.”
According to Dominguez, nine other loan agreements with Japan were signed between October 2016 and January 2019 with a combined amount of 398.82 billion yen (about $3.63 billion or P189.92 billion).
These were the Maritime Safety Capability Improvement Project for the Philippine Coast Guard (Phase 2); Harnessing Agribusiness Opportunities through Robust and Vibrant Entrepreneurship Supportive of Peaceful Transformation; Cavite Industrial Area Flood Risk Management Project; Arterial Road Bypass Project (Phase 3) in Bulacan; New Bohol Airport Construction and Sustainable Environment Protection Project (Phase 2); Metro Rail Transit Line 3 Rehabilitation Project; Pasig-Marikina River Channel Improvement Project (Phase 4); North-South Commuter Railway Extension Project (first tranche of loan); and Metro Manila Subway Project (Phase 1).
Japan remains the top provider of official development assistance (ODA) loans totaling $6.13 billion, accounting for 47.51 percent of the total as of last year, based on the National Economic and Development Authority data.
The country was also the fifth largest provider of ODA grants amounting to $106.76 million — 4.45 percent of the total — as of December 2018.
The post PH, Japan to ink $202-M loan deal appeared first on The Manila Times Online.