World Bank eyes over $3-B project pipeline for Philippines
The World Bank is looking to line up more than $3 billion in potential financing for the Philippines in the next fiscal year, with projects focused on social protection, skills development, government modernization and structural reforms.
Zafer Mustafaoğlu, the World Bank’s division director for the Philippines, says the lender is already preparing a pipeline of programs for its fiscal year 2027, which runs from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027.
“Yes, we always have a pipeline of programs,” Mustafaoğlu says.”For the next fiscal year … we have a pipeline that includes projects from the continuation of 4Ps (Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program), projects on skills, projects on government modernization.”
Fallout from Mideast
The multilateral lender is also considering structural reform initiatives as well as projects that could help the government respond to the economic fallout from the Middle East conflict, particularly among vulnerable sectors.
While details are yet to be finalized, Mustafaoğlu says the pipeline could exceed $3 billion.
“It is not yet clear, but I would say that around $3 billion plus. That would be the range as we prepare,” he adds.
Latest World Bank data show there is $1.68 billion worth of projects currently carrying “pipeline” status for fiscal year 2027. According to Mustafaoğlu, the complete pipeline will soon be updated in the World Bank’s database.
The projects currently in the pipeline include the $250.89-million Accelerating Water and Sanitation Project scheduled for approval on July 31.
There is also a $358-million Climate Resilience Project for micro, small and medium enterprises targeted for approval on Oct. 8.
Also included are the $800-million Social Protection and Digital Innovation Project expected to be approved on Nov. 30, and a $274.62-million Climate and Disaster Resilience for the Vulnerable Project slated for approval on Feb. 25 next year.
The planned financing pipeline comes as the Philippine government continues to review and prioritize projects being undertaken with multilateral development institutions.
“The government is going through that prioritization and calibration. The government is discussing this with all multilateral development agencies. This is an ongoing discussion,” Mustafaoğlu says.
Proper execution
He says further that one of the key objectives of the review is to improve project execution and ensure that programs deliver results more quickly.
“One of the government focuses that we fully support is to accelerate implementation and result focus. As the World Bank Group, we want to get results on the ground. So accelerated implementation and results are very important,” he says.
For the World Bank’s fiscal year 2026, one project remains in the pipeline—the $1.02-billion Philippines Second Energy Transition and Climate Resilience Development Policy Loan.
Meanwhile, around $2.2 billion worth of projects covering six operations are already listed in the World Bank’s pipeline for fiscal year 2028. INQ
