Cebu container port project gets $173-million South Korea funding

MANILA, Philippines — South Korea has extended a $172.64 million loan agreement to the Philippines for the construction of the Cebu International Container Port, according to the Department of Finance (DOF).

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez, on behalf of the Philippine government, and Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) president and chairman Sung-Soo Eun signed the loan agreement, with President Duterte and South Korea President Moon Jae-in as witnesses.

The new Cebu International Container Port project has a total project cost of P10.1 billion (or approximately $199.25 million), according to the DOF.

Of the amount, KEXIM will cover $172.64 million (about P8.8 billion) through the loan assistance, which carries an interest rate of 0.15 percent per annum for non-consulting services and zero percent for consulting services. The loan has a maturity period of 40 years inclusive of a 10-year grace period.

The Philippines, for its part, will provide a counterpart fund of $26.09 million (about P1.4 billion or 28.9 billion Korean Won) for the project.

According to the DOF, the Cebu International Container Port project aims to provide an efficient transport infrastructure for the flow of goods in the Visayas region.

The port will be built on a 25-hectare reclaimed land in the town of Consolacion, Cebu.

It will include a berthing facility that can simultaneously accommodate two 2,000 TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit) vessels; operating facilities and structures for containers, such as a freight station and an inspection shed; an access road and bridge; and a dredged waterway and turning basin.

Aside from the loan agreement, Duterte and Moon also witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on scientific and technological cooperation between the Department of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Science and Information and Communications Technology of Korea, and a MOU concerning the cooperation in the field of transportation between the Department of Transportation and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of Korea.

Other agreements forged during the official visit are the establishment of the joint committee for trade and economic cooperation between the two countries, and a MOU between the Department of National Defense and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of Korea for the cooperation on the expansion of renewable energy deployment.

Prior to this, Seoul has already provided loans amounting $1003.13 million for the Panguil Bay Bridge project, $20.63 million for the Samar Pacific Coastal Road project, $207.88 million Jalaur Multipurpose project Stage II in Iloilo, $80.48 million for the Integrated Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation Measures in Low Lying Areas of Pampanga Bay, and $71.61 million for the modernization of Palawan’s Puerto Princesa Airport.