ADB hikes share of infra loans to PH

In line with the Duterte administration’s ambitious “Build, Build, Build” program, the Manila-based multilateral lender Asian Development Bank has raised the share of infrastructure financing in its loan program for the Philippines for the next three years.

In a statement Tuesday, the Department of Finance said that for the 2018-2020 period, 48 percent of the ADB’s lending program for the Philippines would be for infrastructure projects, a higher share compared with the 34 percent of actual lending approvals in 2011-2016.

“On top of these available funds under the ADB’s Country Operations Business Plan (COBP), sovereign loans offered by the multilateral institution for the country’s infrastructure-related projects account for almost 40 percent of its $3.68-billion Philippine sovereign lending program for 2018 to 2020,” the DOF added.

Quoting the ADB, the DOF said that the new COBP covering the three-year period of 2018 to 2020 would provide $1.9 billion for sustainable infrastructure and development, $1.2 billion for regional development and finance and $900 million for human development.

Also, under the ADB’s Sovereign Lending Program for the Philippines, it has made available about $920 million in funds, with another $400 million on standby for 2018, $1.4 billion for 2019 and $1.36 billion for 2020, with $600 million on standby, the DOF said.

The ADB also reaffirmed its support for the Philippines’ flagship infrastructure projects by cofinancing with Japan the Malolos-Clark Railway and the North-South Commuter Rail line from Tutuban in Manila to Los Baños in Laguna, according to the DOF. —BEN O. DE VERA