The Philippines and Japan have signed a US$202.04 million loan to finance construction and improvement of roads in Mindanao’s conflict-affected areas, including the war torn-city of Marawi.
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said the loan (equivalent to JPY21.92 billion), which will cover several roads in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, aims to reinvigorate local economies and reduce poverty in its communities by linking them to Mindanao’s trade centers, thus improving accessibility and the smooth flow of goods and services to and from these areas.
Signing the loan accord for the Road Network Development Project in Conflict-Affected Areas in Mindanao (RNDP) were Dominguez on behalf of the Philippines and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) senior vice president Yasushi Tanaka on behalf of the Japanese government.
This agreement was signed at the conclusion of the 8th meeting of the Philippines-Japan Joint Committee on Infrastructure Development and Economic Cooperation held on June 18.
The loan amount includes funding for consulting services and civil works that will involve the construction and improvement of about 176.6 kilometers (km) of access roads, including 19.8 km of the Marawi Ring Road and 23 km of the Marawi Trans-Central Road, according to JICA.
Besides inking this new loan agreement, Dominguez said Japanese and Philippine officials also committed to work towards the signing within this year of a supplemental loan for the ongoing Davao City Bypass Construction Project, and three more loan accords for the New Mactan Bridge Construction Project in Cebu, the second phase of the Metro Manila Priority Bridges Seismic Improvement Project, and the second-tranche loan for the first phase of the Metro Manila Subway Project.
Chairing the Philippine side during the meeting were Dominguez and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia, while Dr. Hiroto Izumi, special advisor to Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, led the Japanese delegation.
As for implementing the Philippines’ infrastructure projects in cooperation with Japan, Dominguez said the two sides agreed to “maintain close coordination to resolve pending issues and revisit certain procedures in order to deliver fast and sure action towards achieving our timelines.”
Dominguez said the two sides also reviewed the progress of the Philippines’ railway projects that will be rolled out in cooperation with Japan, and committed to continue consultations to accelerate their implementation and address challenges involving such projects.
The conduct of feasibility studies for the Dalton Pass East Alignment Alternative Road Project, subject to certain requirements, and the Circumferential Road 3 Project Missing Link Project will be done later this year, Dominguez said.
