ADB mulls $210-M energy loan to PHL

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) plans to give the Philippines  a $210-million loan to help the country improve energy efficiency in the education and health sectors.

The package will support the Government Energy Management Programme (GEMP), which requires government agencies to reduce monthly electricity consumption in public buildings by at least 10%.

“This requirement is being enforced under the Philippines Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act,” the ADB said. “This aims to deliver approximately 20-30% energy savings in existing public buildings.”

To achieve these savings, the government plans to procure and install energy-efficient lighting systems, high-efficiency air-conditioning units, solar photovoltaic modules, smart metering systems and electric vehicle charging stations.

“The project will focus particularly on existing education and health related buildings. The total project cost is $500 million implemented over a period of five years,” the ADB said.

It will be carried out in two phases, with the first phase covering about 100 buildings from 2026-2028 and the second phase covering about 300 buildings from 2028 to 2031.

According to the ADB, electricity spending accounts for about 40% of the annual operating budget of public buildings.

“ADB estimates a potential for energy efficiency investment in public buildings of $1.28 billion in the Philippines,” it said.

The bank noted that GEMP has been slow in rolling out due to fragmented execution, limited institutional capacity and a lack of awareness of available energy-efficiency technologies.

The ADB said the proposed loan is expected to be cleared in September following a fact-finding mission scheduled for Aug. 30 to Sept. 10.