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ADB to finance more infra projects in Mindanao


The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is gearing up to finance more projects in Mindanao, claiming this would sustain peace in the region.

In a press conference at the ADB Headquarters in Pasig City, ADB President Takehiko Nakao said the lender plans to expand its financing of projects in Mindanao.

“We also want to invest more in Mindanao ... for the peace, sustaining peace in Mindanao,” Nakao said. “We have to develop Mindanao in the broader sense.”

The ADB board of directors approved last year a $380-million loan to assist road network expansion in Mindanao.

The loan will provide additional financing for the detailed design of 300 kilometers of national highways in the region, to be constructed through other projects.

With a total project cost of $503 million, the Philippine government is to shell out counterpart funding of $123 million.

“Improving roads in Mindanao will support the development of economic opportunities in areas such as agribusiness, ecotourism, and logistics, and improve access to markets, jobs, education, and health facilities,” Jeffrey Miller, Principal Transport Specialist at ADB’s Southeast Asia Department, said in December.

Nakao said on Thursday ADB is also open to provide more financing for infrastructure projects in Metro Manila, particularly in railways.

“We need to support countries, the Philippines in metro areas ... How to mitigate this traffic and how to support the railways projects and urban MTR (mass transit railway),” he said.

The bank said in February it was looking at raising lending to the Philippines in the coming years, in support of the government’s massive infrastructure program.

It also gave the Philippines’ Infrastructure Preparation and Innovation Facility (IPIF) a $100-million loan in support of fast-tracking the rollout of public infrastructure projects.

“They are providing us soft loan—$100 million—for project preparation, feasibility studies. That is a major contribution,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia told reporters separately.

“Many things can be facilitated by infrastructure—mobility of people, connectivity, and then access to opportunities, availability of opportunities. Poverty reduction is going to be greatly helped by infrastructure, employment generation,” he said.

Under the Build, Build, Build program, the government plans to spend over P8 trillion until 2022, largely funded by tax revenue.

“By definition, it’s a must for all of us, for ADB and the countries, to improve infrastructure—the right kind of infrastructure in the right places and for the right members of society who need them,” Pernia said. —VDS, GMA News

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