Philippines signs loan worth $111 million from South Korea
South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol (L) and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. | PHOTO: Official Facebook page of PCO
The Marcos administration has locked in financing loan worth $111.427 million and is looking forward to $2 billion more from the South Korean government for three major infrastructure projects in Luzon and Visayas, the Department of Finance (DOF) said.
In a statement Wednesday, the finance department said it has signed a loan agreement amounting $111.427 million or about P6.34 billion for the Samar Pacific Coastal Road (SPCR) II project in Northern Samar, which is being supported by the Export-Import Bank of Korea-Economic Development Cooperation Fund, while a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was also signed and exchanged for the Laguna Lakeshore Road Network Project Phase 1 and the Panay-Guimaras-Negros Island Bridges Project.
The second phase of the SPCR project will include an 800-meter bridge, named Laoang Bridge 2, connecting Barangay Talisay to Poblacion Laoang, as well as a 605-meter bridge known as Laoang Bridge 3, connecting Barangay Calomotan to Barangay Pangpang, Palapag as well as improvement of existing roads with a length of 15.011 kilometers (km).
“Once completed in 2029, the project will reduce travel time from Laoang to Palapag (Northern Samar) to just 19 minutes from the original travel time of 65 minutes,” the DOF said.
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Article continues after this advertisementMeanwhile, Finance Secretary Ralph Recto told Inquirer that the MOU will lead to a loan to finance both projects amounting to $2 billion.
Article continues after this advertisementThe Phase I of the proposed Laguna Lakeshore Road Network Project, with a total cost of P181.03 billion, includes a 37.6 km viaduct and embankment stretching from Lower Bicutan in Taguig City to Calamba in Laguna.
The project also involves constructing eight interchanges designed to connect municipal boundaries to the nearest public roads in Lower Bicutan, Sucat, Alabang, Tunasan, San Pedro/Biñan, Santa Rosa, Cabuyao, and Calamba.
It aims to slash travel time from Filinvest to Lower Bicutan to just 13.7 minutes from the previous 33.5 minutes.
The Korean bank wants to fund the project’s first stage amounting to P50.61 billion with co-financing from the Asian Development Bank and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
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Additionally, the inter-island bridges project in Western Visayas that involves the construction of two sea-crossing, four-lane bridges spanning 32.47 km combined that will connect the islands of Panay, Guimaras, and Negros are expected to be completed in 2031.
The travel time from Panay to Negros Islands through ferries or Ro-Ro will be shortened to less than an hour from three to four hours.
The Korean government is currently financing the Engineering Services or Detailed Engineering Design for a project with a total cost of P187.54 billion, backed by a P3.21-billion financing agreement in 2022.
The Detailed Engineering Design is expected to be completed in 202
To date, South Korea is the Philippines’ sixth largest official development assistance partner with loan and grant commitments amounting to around $958.11 million or about P54.33 billion.
