JICA funding for Philippines transport reaches P1.5 trillion

MANILA, Philippines — Japan remains the largest source of financing for mobility projects in the Philippines, with P1.5 trillion worth of loans extended to the Department of Transportation (DOTr) alone.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has funded nine projects, including the P873.62 billion North South Commuter Railway, the P488.48 billion Metro Manila Subway Project, the P64.92 billion Light Rail Transit Line 1 Cavite Extension and the $130 million Metro Rail Transit Line 3 Rehabilitation Project.

Aside from railway projects, JICA is funding the upgrade of the air traffic management system of the Philippines. It also bankrolled the construction of the Bohol-Panglao International Airport.

Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista relayed his gratitude to JICA chief representative to the Philippines Takema Sakamoto on behalf of the government for the agency’s assistance.

The two convened in a meeting to exchange updates on the projects their parties are working on.

Bautista said the Philippines could achieve its objective of becoming both a gateway country and investment hub in Asia with assistance from JICA.

For his part, Sakamoto said JICA would sustain its infrastructure assistance to the country to help it improve accessibility and mobility nationwide.

Bautista informed aviation stakeholders that the government is committed to complete the construction of new airports, including the upgrade of existing ones.

The DOTr chief said the Philippines has reached the position where it is ripe to land new investments on airport development and operations. 

Likewise, he noted that investors are becoming interested in exploring projects related to aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul.

According to Bautista, the DOTr could gauge investor interest in Philippine aviation depending on the success of the privatization of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

Last week, the DOTr conducted the pre-bid conference for the contract to operate and maintain NAIA.

As of Sept. 20, a total of six firms have procured bidding documents from the DOTr for the rehabilitate-operate-expand-transfer project for NAIA.

 The DOTr is set to release the final draft of the concession agreement on Dec. 4 and accept bids until Dec. 27, with the target of awarding the deal by the first quarter of 2024.