Two bridges in Visayas, Mindanao earmarked for possible Chinese financing
MANILA, Philippines — Two bridges in Visayas and Mindanao are among the projects in the pipeline that will likely be funded with Chinese loans, the Department of Finance said Wednesday.
In a statement, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said the Davao-Samal Bridge Project in Mindanao and the Panay-Guimaras-Negros Interisland Bridge Project in Western Visayas are two other projects in the pipeline for possible Chinese financing.
"We want to assure you that the funds provided by the Chinese people through the Chinese government are going to be used to the benefit of the Filipino people," Dominguez said.
A series of meetings between Philippine and Chinese officials are scheduled this week in Beijing to continue coordination with the Chinese government regarding the Duterte administration’s infrastructure flagship projects under the “Build, Build, Build” program.
So far, China extended a $62.09 million loan for the Chico river irrigation project and a $ 211.21 million loan for the construction of the Kaliwa Dam.
Meanwhile, the Binondo-Intramuros and Estrella-Pantaleon Bridges — which are funded with a 397 million renminbi ($63.13 million) grant from China — are being implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways.
"We have been meeting with the Ministry of Commerce of China for the past two years, and we have made a lot of progress with our actual official development assistance relations with China," Dominguez said.
Ties between the Philippines and China have significantly improved under Duterte, who has set aside a ruling from a United Nations-backed tribunal that invalidated Beijing’s claim to sovereignty over most of the resource-rich South China Sea.
In 2016, Duterte secured a pledge for $9-billion official development assistance during his trip to Beijing — which highlighted his “separation” from the Philippines' only treaty ally, the US.
Last year, Fitch Solutions warned that while Beijing’s economic largesse would be supportive of the Philippines in the near-term, the Chinese economy is also struggling to sustain its growth momentum amid rising trade tensions with Washington.
It also warned that a flare up of tensions between both sides would damage economic cooperation and could see China pull out of infrastructure investments in the Philippines. — Ian Nicolas Cigaral
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