Philippines, Japan fast-tracking infra projects ? DOF
High-level Philippine and Japanese officials have continued to discuss on Wednesday, June 20, the timelines and possible plans of action to do away with bottlenecks and swiftly address concerns on the preparation and implementation of flagship infrastructure projects that the Philippines is undertaking in cooperation with Japan.
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said that during the 5th meeting of the Philippines-Japan Joint Committee on Infrastructure Development and Economic Cooperation Tokyo, Japanese officials expressed their government’s intention to provide indicative official development assistance (ODA) loan financing of about 38.1 billion yen for the MRT Line 3 Rehabilitation Project.
They also indicated to provide supplemental loan of some 4.37 billion yen for the second phase of the New Bohol Airport Construction and Sustainable Environmental Protection Project “subject to the necessary Philippine and Japanese Government approval processes.”
Dominguez said he extended the Philippines’ appreciation for Japan’s full support for these projects under the Duterte administration’s “Build, Build, Build” program.
Aside from these two projects, the committee also confirmed the updated candidate list of projects to which Japan will provide assistance.
They include the: 1) Philippine National Railways (PNR) North 2 Project, which will run from Malolos in Bulacan to Clark in Pampanga; 2) PNR South Commuter Line, which will extend from Tutuban in Manila to Calamba in Laguna; 3) Pasig-Marikina River Channel Improvement Project, which aims to mitigate flooding in Metro Manila; and the 4) Road Network Development Project in Conflict-Affected Areas in Mindanao.
Officials of both countries also reaffirmed their commitment toward the partial operability of the first phase of the Metro Manila Subway Project by May 2022, subject to the progress of the measures that need to be carried out to deal with various concerns, such as land acquisition and relocation of utilities.
Dominguez and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia headed the Philippine delegation during the meeting held at the Office of the Prime Minister, while the Japanese side was led by Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga and Shigeru Kiyama, the special advisor to the Cabinet.
“This is now our fifth meeting since March 2017 and it is evident that our frequent meetings are beginning to bear positive results,” Dominguez said. “Indeed, our commitment and efforts to fast-track loan processing and project implementation are gaining headway.”
Dominguez said that “as a result of these high-level meetings, our various agencies have been coordinating regularly to implement our agreed and joint actions to facilitate and hasten project implementation.”
Suga, meanwhile expressed the hope that the latest meeting would lead to more “fruitful and constructive discussions towards fast and secure implementation of the projects.”
“This joint committee has been (convening) for the important plan in developing multi-layer bilateral cooperation since we discussed cooperation in various areas such as traffic and transport infrastructure problems, the Metro Manila Subway project, peace and development in Mindanao, safety and counter terrorism measures and information and technology,” Suga said.
On behalf of the Filipino people, Dominguez and the Philippine delegation also extended their deepest sympathies to the victims of the magnitude 6.1 earthquake that hit Osaka last June 18.
The Philippine officials also expressed their sincere hope for the swift recovery of the city from the damages wrought by the earthquake, which took the lives of a number of Japanese nationals, injured several hundreds more, and paralyzed the city’s utilities and transportation. DMS
