China studies funding for P170-billion infra deals

The Duterte administration has made headway into tapping China for its massive infrastruc­ture buildup plan. During a re­cent economic mission to Chi­na, a high-level delegation led by Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III presented three large-scale infrastructure proj­ects to Beijing for possible loan financing, while nine others were submitted for feasibility study support.

Dominguez said the three projects that would undergo China’s loan-application process have already been approved by the board of the National Eco­nomic and Development Authori­ty (Neda) and the Investment Co­ordination Committee (ICC).

Dominguez and members of the mission presented to Chi­na Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng the three projects which has a combined total cost of $3.4 billion (P170 billion) during the two-day visit that ended last Jan. 24.

The projects which are be­ing considered by China are the Chico River Pump Irrigation Proj­ect in the provinces of Cagayan and Kalinga, with an estimated total project cost of $53.6 million (P2.68 billion); the New Centen­nial Water Source-Kaliwa Dam Project in Quezon, $374.03 mil­lion P18.7 billion); and the South Line of the North-South Railway Project (NSRP) running from Ma­nila to Legazpi City in Bicol, $3.01 billion (P150.5 billion).

Dominguez said the three priority projects would seek loan financing under the $3.4-billion assistance made available by the Export-Import Bank of China (China Exim) to the Philippines, of which $2 billion is new commit­ment.

These projects aim to raise the productivity of small farmers, im­prove transportation and logistics services in underserved areas of Luzon, and ensure a steady water supply to Metro Manila, he said.

“We are looking at imple­menting large infra projects in the rural areas, particularly in ir­rigation, logistics in bridges and roads to connect communities to the major markets,” Dominguez said.

Nine other projects that aim to interconnect the country’s three main island-groups, boost tourism, and construct a flood-control system in Mindan­ao and ensure its stable power supply, were likewise presented by the Philippine team to Gao for feasibility study support.

Up for the Chinese gov­ernment’s review are the North Luzon Expressway East Project, the Panay Guimaras-Negros Island Bridges, the Davao City Expressway, the Ambal-Simuay Sub-Basin of the Mindanao Riv­er Basin Flood Control and River Protection Project, the Dinagat (Leyte)-Surigao Link Bridge, the Luzon-Samar Link Bridge, the Agus 3 Hydroelectric Plant, the Pasacao-Balatan Tourism Coast­al Development Program, and the Camarines Sur Expressway, with a total indicative cost of $1 billion (P50 billion).

Dominguez said the govern­ment has submitted the relevant documents and materials to Chi­nese officials to speed up the as­sessment process for these nine projects.

The 12 projects are part of the 40 “large and small” infra projects presented by the Philip­pines to China during the ay mis­sion.

Dominguez said the meeting of the Philippine team with offi­cials of China’s Ministry of Com­merce was a “productive first step toward achieving the desire of (President Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jinping)” in further reinforcing ties between the two countries.”

Aside from Dominguez, the Philippine delegation included Secretaries Benjamin Diokno of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Ar­thur Tugade of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and Mark Villar of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH); and Director-General Ernesto Pernia of the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).

Neda Deputy Director-Gen­eral Rolando Tungpalan, DPWH Undersecretaries Emil Sadain and Karen Jimeno, and Bas­es Conversion and Develop­ment Authority (BCDA) Presi­dent-CEO Vivencio Dizon were also part of the delegation.

Joining them were DOF Assistant Secretaries Ma. Edi­ta Tan and Mark Dennis Joven, DOTr Assistant Secretaries Leah Merida Quiambao and Cesar Chavez, and Assistant Secre­tary Julia Nebrija of the Metro Manila Development Authority.

Dominguez said the gen­erous assistance offered by China to the Philippines during the mission was among the concrete results of Mr. Duter­te’s foreign-policy rebalancing toward accelerated integration with the Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and its major Asian trading partners China, Japan and South Korea.

He said that amid glob­al uncertainty over a possible overhaul of US trade policies under the new presidency of Donald Trump, it was a “very smart” move by Mr. Duterte to recalibrate the Philippines’s for­eign policy early on and reorient the economy toward greater integration with its Asian neigh­bors.

“It makes good sense to be closer with our neighboring countries than with our distant friends,” he said.

In the meeting with Gao, Dominguez informed Chinese officials about the Duterte ad­ministration’s three priority ob­jectives, which are to reduce poverty, develop a law-abiding citizenry, and establish a soci­ety whose citizens are at peace among themselves and with their neighbors in the interna­tional community.

Dominguez said the 40 projects discussed during the meeting aim to help realize the President’s primary goal of re­ducing poverty.

Dominguez said the other projects on the list are relatively small in scale, and are easier to implement. LUIS LEONCIO