THE Department of Finance (DOF) said two of the 12 bridges planned to span the Pasig River, to be built under the Duterte administration, will be funded by grants from the Chinese government. Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said the Duterte administration will be working with the Chinese government in terms of building the planned Binondo-Intramuros bridge with an estimated value of P4.6 billion, and the Estrella-Pantaleon bridge at P1.36 billion, with total costs amounting to P5.96 billion.
“We are now negotiating the grants from China to build the two bridges across the Pasig River,” Dominguez said.
The finance chief said currently, the Philippine government is negotiating with its Chinese counterparts regarding the issuance of its first loan of $200 million worth of Panda bonds.
“At present, we are negotiating for first loan of $200 million and this will be what is known as Panda bond. We are floating for the first time in history a bond in China to test the market. As we go forward, we will be negotiating for the projects that the Chinese government will fund,” he added.
The Duterte administration has accumulated $9 billion worth of Chinese loans since the delegations’ visit in the country last October. Last year Chinese President Xi Jin Ping mentioned a total of roughly $9 billion in terms of official development assistance (ODA) and commercial loan financing for Philippine infrastructure projects.
“At this point in time, we are firming up those commitments and we will do it on a project-to-project basis,” Dominguez said.
Three projects of the Philippine government being eyed by loans from China include the Chico River Irrigation project, the new centennial water source and the Philippine National Railways (PNR) south-line project.
The project cost of the Chico River Pump Irrigation System is estimated at P2.7 billion, the new centennial water source, or the Kaliwa Dam, at P10.9 billion, and the PNR South Rail ,which spans Metro Manila to the province of Bicol, at P151.3 billion.
The three projects are seen to reach P164.9 billion in total project costs, with the estimated loan amount of P140 billion by the Philippine government still awaiting confirmation from its China.
The interest rates for the Chinese loans are being currently negotiated to be decreased by the Philippine government, since a rate of 2 percent per annum was slapped for the loans.
“For the loans, we are negotiating at the moment at around 2 percent per annum. We are negotiating for a lower amount than this. That is for the ODA portions,” the finance chief said.
Contractors for the building of the projects will be pulled from three proposed entities or bidders of the Chinese government.