The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) and China Development Bank (CDB) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the crafting of a framework for financing cooperation to speed up the implementation of infrastructure projects worth $4.5 billion under the government’s “Build, Build, Build” (BBB) program.
Under the MOU, the two state agencies will undertake research, study and other implementation requirements for BCDA’s major infrastructure projects under the BBB program. The collaboration will last up to 2022.
The BCDA announced that its chairman, Gregorio Garcia III, and Chairman Hu Huaibang of China Development Bank signed the document.
The financial institution intends to team up with qualified Chinese enterprises that will take part in the project implementation. Their participation can be in the form of investments, feasibility studies, independent consultancies, detailed engineering design, equipment procurement and construction, among others.
Among the high-impact infrastructure projects that stand to benefit from the financing cooperation are the New Clark City, the Subic-Clark Railway Project and the BGC-Naia-Makati Bus Rapid Transit.
The New Clark City is envisioned to be country’s first smart, green and disaster-resilient metropolis. The Subic-Clark Railway Project is a 70-kilometer cargo rail running parallel to the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway and the Subic Freeport Expressway. It supports the movement of goods and services between major economic hubs in Central Luzon, such as the New Clark City, Clark Freeport and Special Economic Zone, Subic Bay Freeport Zone and Tarlac Industrial Park.
The Bonifacio Global City-Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia)-Makati Bus Rapid Transit is a mass-transport system that will facilitate a 15-minute travel time from Fort Bonifacio to the Naia, preventing delays for passengers rushing to catch their flights.
As of end 2016, China Development Bank’s international business has spanned 115 countries and regions, with $347 billion in outstanding loans, accounting for about one-fourth of the bank’s RMB and foreign-currency portfolios.
