Japan commits P20.6 B loan for Phl infra

MANILA, Philippines — The Japanese government has expressed its intent to provide about ¥42.47 billion (P20.6 billion) worth of funding support for two of the Duterte administration’s infrastructure projects, the Department of Finance (DOF) said over the weekend.

In a statement, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said Tokyo has committed an indicative loan amount of ¥38.1 billion for the Manila Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3 Rehabilitation Project and another supplemental loan amounting to ¥4.37 billion for the second phase of the New Bohol Airport Construction and Sustainable Environmental Protection Project.

He said Japan gave these commitments during the fifth meeting of the Philippines-Japan Joint Committee on Infrastructure Development and Economic Cooperation held in Tokyo last week.

Aside from these two projects, Dominguez said the committee also confirmed the updated candidate list of projects to which Japan will provide assistance.

These include the Philippine National Railways (PNR) North 2 Project, which will run from Malolos in Bulacan to Clark in Pampanga, and the PNR South Commuter Line, which will extend from Tutuban in Manila to Calamba in Laguna.

“We are targeting to sign the Exchange of Notes for both projects in November 2018. We will also exert efforts to achieve the challenging goal of making the North rail section partially operational by 2022,“ Dominguez said.

For these railway projects to be implemented, the finance chief said both sides agreed to continue the trilateral consultations regarding the co-financing arrangement between Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for the PNR North 2 project and the PNR South Commuter Line.

“Both sides will continue to have consultations at the technical working level to accelerate implementation and address challenges for the railway projects,” Dominguez said.

Dominguez said Tokyo has also confirmed its support for the Pasig-Marikina River Channel Improvement Project, which aims to mitigate flooding in Metro Manila, and the Road Network Development Project in Conflict-Affected Areas in Mindanao.

After the meeting, the Japanese and Philippine governments signed a Letter of Intent for the Technical Cooperation on the Action Plan on Electric Power, which aims to help resolve issues plaguing the Philippine power sector.

An Amended Joint Venture Agreement between the Bases Conversion and Development Authority and the Surbana Jurong Group, which restates their commitment to develop the New Clark City in Pampanga, was also signed after the meeting.

According to Dominguez, officials of both countries likewise reaffirmed their commitment toward the partial operability of the first phase of the Metro Manila Subway Project by May 2022.

Dominguez said Manila has also asked for Tokyo’s support through a concessional financing package for the Road Network Development Project in Conflict Areas in Mindanao, which include Marawi City.

The DoF chief said the two governments agreed to further explore possible urban development projects in the cities of Cebu and Davao, and discussed developments in regional development, information and communications technology, energy, agriculture, environment, public safety, and disaster prevention.

During the meeting, the Philippine side shared the progress it has made to help speed up the implementation of its projects.

Dominguez cited the establishment of the Project Facilitation, Monitoring and Innovation (PFMI) Task Force, the adoption of measures to address right-of-way and resettlement issues, and the provision of budget to cover the counterpart funding requirements of the projects.

The finance chief also expressed the Philippine government’s appreciation for the efforts of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to streamline its approval process, and hoped that the same approach would be applied to the processing of other projects in the pipeline.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, for his part, expressed hope the latest meeting would lead to more “fruitful and constructive discussions towards fast and secure implementation of the projects.”

“This joint committee has been (convening) for the important plan in developing multi-layer bilateral cooperation since we discussed cooperation in various areas such as traffic and transport infrastructure problems, the Metro Manila Subway project, peace and development in Mindanao, safety and counter terrorism measures and information and technology,” Suga said.