The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) reaffirmed its support for the Philippines’ economic expansion through policy reforms and infrastructure financing, ADB Country Director Andrew Jerries said Thursday at the Arangkada Philippines Forum in Pasay City.
“As a shareholder, our role is to help,” Jerries said, noting ADB’s nearly six decades of partnership with the Philippines. “It doesn’t stop our work, but it makes the processes we have in place all the more important.”
ADB is preparing a $400-million Business Environment Strengthening with Technology Program (subprogram 1) through the Department of Finance. The initiative, aligned with the Philippine Development Plan 2023–2028 and the 8-Point Socioeconomic Agenda, aims to cut red tape, improve transparency, expand digital government, and stimulate job creation.
On infrastructure, Jerries said ADB is set to roll out the $303.24-million Integrated Flood Resilience and Adaptation Project – Phase 1, which will cover the Abra River Basin in Northern Luzon and the Ranao (Agus) and Tagum-Libuganon River Basins in Mindanao. Construction is targeted to begin in the second half of 2025.
“We’re working on a larger one that’s a few years away. So, we will likely support more flood protection projects in the future,” Jerries added.