THE Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) will extend a $202.04-million loan to construct four subprojects under the Road Network Development Project in Conflict-Affected Areas in Mindanao (RNDP-Caam).
The loan will be used in the detailed design and construction/improvement of the Parang Balabagan Road, Marawi City Ring Road, Parang East Diversion Road and Manuangan Parang Road.
Jica said it is also extending a grant to construct the Matanog-Barira-Alamada-Libungan Road (Matanog-Barira Section) and Tapian Lebak Coastal Road under the RNDP-Caam of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
“Through the road network project, people from conflict-affected areas will have links to markets, public facilities, and improve agribusiness potential of their place,” said Jica Senior Representative Kiyo Kawabuchi.
The Jica-DPWH road project is part of Jica’s support to peace-building through infrastructure development in Mindanao.
Government data in 2018 showed that the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) remains the poorest region in the Philippines with a 61.3-percent poverty incidence.
Jica said armed conflict also affected the region’s connectivity with ARMM’s road density at 0.10, lower than the average of Mindanao.
“Building roads in remote, conflict-affected communities will help bridge the economic gap in the region and help consolidate peace,” Kawabuchi said.
The Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2017-2022 also underscores regional connectivity through infrastructure development (including, expanding road systems and upgrading or rehabilitating roads) as among its priorities.
Jica’s focus on peace
and development in Mindanao is a key pillar of its assistance in the
Philippines. It has been supporting projects in conflict-affected areas in
Mindanao for more than two decades.
Jica was adjudged in April 2019, as the “Development Aid Agency of the
Year” under the BusinessMirror’s
pioneering search dubbed “Mission: PHL, the BusinessMirror’s
Envoys &
Expats Award.”
Since 2006, it has been implementing peacebuilding initiatives in
Mindanao under the Japan-Bangsamoro Initiatives for Reconstruction and
Development), and other development cooperation including building
socioeconomic infrastructure, and supporting good governance, livelihood and
industry
development.
Jica is the world’s largest bilateral aid agency, with a volume of cooperation of $19.57 billion for JFY 2017 and a worldwide network of about 100 overseas offices including the Philippines.