The Philippines and China signed 29 agreements, including on the Philippine government’s infrastructure projects and on x-ray machines for the Philippine Bureau of Customs (BOC), during the recent state visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Philippine Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III and Commerce Minister Zhong Shan of China on November 20 signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to jointly promote cooperation in key infrastructure projects in Davao Region.
The MOU outlines the cooperation arrangements between the Philippines and China in implementing big-ticket infrastructure projects in Davao, which initially include the Davao City Expressway project, the Davao-Samal Bridge, and the Bucana-Davao River Coastal Bypass Road of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH); and the Mindanao Railway Project of the Department of Transportation (DOTr).
Dominguez also exchanged with Wang Xiaotao, chairman of China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA), an MOU that provides the framework for China’s support for the feasibility study of the Philippine administration’s major projects as agreed upon between the two countries.
CIDCA, responsible for administering Chinese foreign aid and development assistance to other countries, also exchanged with the Department of Finance (DOF) the document that provides financing for new projects covered by the Philippines-China Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation. These new projects covered by the RMB500 million (P3.77 billion) accord includes financing for the Davao River Bridge (Bucana) project and the donation of x-ray machines and scanning technologies to BOC as well as other projects to be mutually agreed upon by the two governments.
Also signed by the Philippine Department of Agriculture and General Administration of Customs of China were the Protocol of Phytosanitary Requirements for Export of Fresh Young Coconuts from the Philippines to China and the Protocol of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Requirements for Export of Frozen Fruits from the Philippines to China.
Meanwhile, DOTr and China Railway Design Corporation (CRDC) on November 20 entered into a contract on the project management consultancy (PMC) of the 639-kilometer Philippine National Railways (PNR) South Long-Haul Project (also known as PNR Bicol).
The National Economic and Development Authority Board previously approved financing of the PNR Bicol Project through official development assistance (ODA) from the government of China.
Upon completion, the PNR Bicol Project will connect Metro Manila, Region IV-A, and Region V (Bicol), reducing travel time from Manila to Legazpi City from 13 hours to under six hours.
DOTr in a statement explained that as with other ODA-financed projects, it engaged a PMC (also called a general consultant) to provide consultancy services on technical and commercial matters concerning a project.
“Being a China ODA-financed contract, the selection of the PMC was based on a list of qualified and experienced bidders, as endorsed by the Chinese government,” DOTr said.
For the PNR Bicol project, the CRDC and Guangzhou Wanan Construction Supervision Co., Ltd. Consortium will conduct all pre-construction surveys (topographic, geotechnical, hydrological, parcellary, environmental, etc.), preparation of designs for bidding, preparation of bidding documents, bidding assistance, construction supervision, and defects liability period (warranty) supervision.
