THE Chico River Pump Irrigation (CRPI) project and at least four other government ventures received a boost after Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III and Chinese officials signed in China on Tuesday a $62-million loan agreement.
The deal is centered on funding the construction of the CRPI. The officials also signed a separate accord on economic and technical cooperation providing for a $79-million grant for other projects undertaken by the Philippine government in cooperation with China, the Department of Finance (DOF) said.
The DOF added Dominguez signed on behalf of the Philippine government the Preferential Buyer’s Credit Loan Agreement on the CRPI project with Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jinhua, representing The Export-Import Bank of China. Dominguez also signed the “Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation” with China Commerce Minister Zhong Shan at the sidelines of the four-day Boao Forum for Asia held
in Hainan.
The two accords comprise two of the six agreements signed by the two countries during the visit of President Duterte to China. During that visit, Duterte met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and attended the annual forum held at the coastal town of Boao in this Chinese province.
The DOF said the $62.09-million (about P3.135 billion) loan agreement on the CRPI project, which will be implemented by the National Irrigation Administration, covers 85 percent of the total contract amount of $73.04 million or approximately P3.689 billion. The total project cost is $86.57 million, or P4.372 billion.
The interest rate on the US-dollar denominated loan is 2 percent per annum, with a maturity period of 20 years, inclusive of a seven-year grace period.
Meanwhile, the Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation involves a 500-million-renminbi grant, approximately $79 million, to finance the following projects and activities. These include the Binondo-Intramuros and Estrella Pantaleon bridges in Metro Manila of the Department of Public Works and Highways at RMB 264.8 million, partial funding; the feasibility study for the Davao City Expressway Project of the DPWH at RMB25.83 million; the provision of radio and broadcasting equipment to the Presidential Communications Operations Office at RMB17.82 million; and the Philippine-Sino Center for Agricultural Technology-Technical Cooperation Program Phase III of the Department of Agriculture at
RMB27.52 million.
The total grant for the four projects amounts to RMB335.97 million, with the remaining amount of RMB 164.03 million under the RMB 500-million grant, will be used to finance other projects, according to the DOF.
The Boao Forum for Asia is an annual event wherein government and business leaders in the region meet, to further promote economic exchange, coordination and cooperation within Asia and other parts of the world.