DAVAO CITY—Officials from the Philippines and Japan would meet again this month for a high-level discussion on the progress of Japan-funded infrastructure projects under the government’s “Build, Build, Build” (BBB) program and other areas of economic cooperation between Manila and Tokyo.
The 8th Japan-Philippines Joint Committee on Infrastructure Development and Economic Cooperation scheduled on June 18 will be held at the New Clark City in Pampanga, the Department of Finance said on Sunday.
Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia will chair the Philippine side, while Dr. Hiroto Izumi is expected to lead the Japanese delegation to the meeting, the DOF said.
The Philippine and Japanese economic teams are expected to sign on the same day the $202.04-million loan agreement for the Road Network Development Project in conflict-affected areas in Mindanao.
Although the first high-level joint committee meeting was first convened in March 2017, Dominguez said there were nine other loan agreements with Japan signed between October 2016 and January 2019. The agreements amounted to ¥398.82 billion (about $3.63 billion or P189.92 billion).
The high-level meetings were initiated by the Duterte administration to fast-track the rollout of its 75 big-ticket projects under the Build, Build, Build infrastructure program.
The nine loan agreements would be for the following projects:
- Maritime safety capability improvement for the Philippine Coast Guard (Phase II);
- Harnessing agribusiness opportunities through robust and vibrant entrepreneurship supportive of peaceful transformation (Harvest);
- Cavite industrial area flood- risk management;
- Arterial road bypass (Phase III) in Bulacan;
- New Bohol Airport construction and sustainable environment protection (Phase II);
- Metro Rail Transit Line 3 rehabilitation project;
- Pasig-Marikina river channel improvement (Phase IV);
- North-South commuter railway extension (first tranche of loan); and
- Metro Manila subway (Phase 1).
The subway project is considered the single biggest venture under the Build, Build, Build program.
Citing data from the National Economic and Development Authority, the DOF said Japan remained the top provider of official development assistance loans totalling $6.13 billion (47.51-percent share of the total ODA loan), and the No. 5 provider of ODA grants amounting to $106.76 million (4.45-percent share of the total ODA grants) as of December last year.
In February this year, the seventh meeting of the Japan-Philippines Joint Committee on Infrastructure Development and Economic Cooperation met in Osaka, Japan discussed ways on expanding cooperation between the two countries in terms of addressing implementation bottlenecks in the BBB infrastructure projects.
During the meeting, Japan announced that on top of its $202-million loan for the Road Network Development Project in Conflict-Affected Areas in Mindanao, it is also extending a ¥3.2-billion grant assistance for peace and development projects in Mindanao.
With a report from Rea Cu
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