Pernia urges faster ADB loan approval

MANILA, Philippines -  The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) urged yesterday the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to shorten its loan approval process to support the country’s massive infrastructure development endeavor. 

During ADB’s history book launch Tuesday, Pernia said the Manila-based multilateral development bank (MDB) should factor in the length of its loan approval process to the time it takes to implement and complete the approved projects after financing has been secured. 

“ With ADB, I hope there will be faster processing of loans. Project approval is up to three years and implementation and construction will take up to a decade. And so waiting for such a long period of time is really infinity for countries needing assistance And to paraphrase, assistance delayed is assistance effectively denied especially for the poorer countries in the region,” he said during the panel discussion on the role of MDBs in financing Asia Pacific’s development needs in the future. 

“And so if there is one suggestion that I would make for reforms, it is for the faster approval of loans and technical assistance. Especially now that we have this loan for technical assistance for feasibility studies,” said Pernia. 

NEDA is seeking from ADB a soft loan of $100 million  to finance the conduct of feasibility studies for infrastructure projects to back up the government’s ambitious infrastructure development plan. 

Pernia said the government wants to deliver projects swiftly to produce tangible effects within President Duterte’s term. 

For his part, ADB president Takehiko Nakao said  this proposed change in the bank’s project approval process may be considered. 

“We believe we can make a change without compromising the integrity of our work,” he said during the panel discussion. 

ADB launched yesterday its history book titled “Banking on the Future of Asia and the Pacific: 50 years of the Asian Development Bank” and held discussions on the role of MDBs in spurring growth and development in the region.