The Japanese government is funding P69.065 billion worth of road and bridge projects nationwide to help the Philippines increase investments and create more jobs.
The amount, a news statement said, covers eight ongoing projects which are part of the Duterte administration’s Philippine Development Plan (PDP) and “Build, Build, Build” initiative meant to increase the Philippines’s infrastructure spending to P8 trillion to P9 trillion by 2022.
“We want to help the Philippines improve the conditions of its roads and bridges so more investments can come into the Philippines and more jobs will be created,” said Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) Senior Representative Kiyo Kawabuchi. “Our support is also part of our commitment to building quality infrastructure in the region to boost economic development and build resiliency against natural disasters in the Asian region,” she added.
The largest project to be financed by Jica is the P20.423 billion Road Upgrading and Preservation Project (RUPP), which is reconstructing nine roads and bridges that were severely damaged due to the earthquake along the Bohol Circumferential Road.
Another big-ticket project is the Davao City Bypass Construction Project (south and center sections) worth P11.953 billion which is building a four-lane road and tunnel in the city.
Other projects being financed by Jica include the P11.398 billion Central Luzon Link Expressway Project; P10.735 billion Road Network Development Project in Conflict Affected Areas in Mindanao; and P3.965 billion Metro Manila Interchange Construction Project (Phase 6).
The list also includes the P4.891 billion Metro Manila Priority Bridges Seismic Improvement Project; P4.7 billion Arterial Road Bypass Project (Phase 3); and the P1 billion Programme for the Support for Rehabilitation and Reconstruction of Marawi City and its Surrounding Areas.
“Aside from hard infrastructure like building roads, bridges and railways, Jica is also supporting transport infrastructure development through soft measures, such as institutional support, capacity building and technology transfer,” Jica said in the same news statement.
These projects include efforts to share Japan’s expertise in road maintenance under the recently completed Project for Improvement of Quality Management for Highway and Bridge Construction and Maintenance.
Further, the Philippine government has approved the Jica and National Economic and Development Authority’s Roadmap for Transport Infrastructure Development for Metro Manila and its Surrounding Areas study in 2014 to sustain development by decongesting traffic, and spread economic growth in nearby areas.
According to the road map follow-up study, no interventions could mean worsening traffic and increase of transport costs from P3.5 billion a day to P5.4 billion a day.
Of the total Official Development Assistance (ODA) of Jica in the Philippines, transport infrastructure accounts for 80 percent development support from 2013 to 2017 that also includes roads and railways.
Japan is the Philippines’s leading ODA partner with ODA disbursement amounting to $352 million in 2017.
This year, the Department of Public Works and Highways recognized Jica as Development Aid Partner for the Year for infrastructure support in the BusinessMirror’s Mission: PHL, Envoys & Expats Award.