The Korea Export-Import Bank (Kexim) has agreed to fund the New Cebu International Container Port project that will cost P9.19 billion to construct, the Department of Finance said on Tuesday.
The multibillion-peso port project forms part of the larger Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Program, and seven more infrastructure-buildup projects and program are under Kexim review.
According to DOF Assistant Secretary Maria Edita Z. Tan, the approved project for funding by Kexim is the New Cebu International Container Port, which is included in the flagship projects of the Duterte administration, with total project costs amounting to P9.19 billion.
“This is just one project they have already signed under the PPP Program pipeline and we have submitted additional projects for their consideration,” Tan told financial reporters.
Of the total amount of P9.19 billion, P7.96 billion will be financed by submarket official development assistance (ODA) loan and the remaining P1.23 billion will come from government coffers.
The Cebu International Container Port project involves the construction of a port with a 500-meter berth length in a 25-hectare reclaimed island in the municipality of Consolacion in Cebu province. The project also include the improvement of 1,500 meters of inland road and the construction of a 300-linear-meter offshore bridge connecting the port to the shoreline.
Earlier in the month the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) said the South Korean government offered the country $1 billion in concessional loans over a six-year period through Kexim, to help fund a number of its infrastructure-buildup program.
According to the DOF, the remaining seven projects sent for funding through Kexim include the development of marine aids to navigation in Luzon and the Visayas; the new Dumaguete airport-development project; the development of hybrid power-generation systems; the establishment of Mindoro Multi-Grain Processing center; the development of the national animal identification and traceability system; drive-through portal inspection facilities in international ports of entry; and the automated collection of slaughter data and issuance of meat inspection certificates.
Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said feasibility studies will still be conducted for the remaining projects for Kexim consideration. The finance chief also said that, in terms of the vetting of the projects up for ODA, the government considers the internal rate of return, meaning the higher the rate of internal return, the better.
“We need feasibility studies first,” Dominguez said.
Tan, on the other hand, said the remaining seven projects need to be approved by the Investment Coordination Committee (ICC).
“There is no exact status as to where we are in the preparation of the feasibility studies. Right now, these projects that I have mentioned, there is still no approval from the ICC, so that is where we are right now,” she said.
Other countries that extended funding support to the Philippines include Japan and China, with pledges amounting to a combined $33 billion in investment aids.