The Asian Development Bank increased its available funding for the Philippines’ infrastructure-related investments from 34 percent of actual lending approvals covering the 2011-2016 period to 48 percent over the next three years in support of the Duterte administration’s massive infrastructure program.
It said on top of the available funds under the ADB’s Country Operations Business Plan, sovereign loans for the country’s infrastructure-related projects would account for almost 40 percent of the $3.68-billion Philippine Sovereign Lending Program for 2018 to 2020.
ADB president Takehiko Nakao updated Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III on the bank’s four new lending programs for the Philippines this year amounting to $1.08 billion in a recent meeting in Manila.
Dominguez thanked the ADB for continuing to extend its assistance to the Philippines, especially for its ‘Build, Build, Build’ infra program and for approving the new loans, which include Encouraging Investment through Capital Market Reforms Subprogram 2 ($300 million), Improving Growth Corridors in the Mindanao Road Sector ($380 million), the Facilitating Youth School-to-Work Transition ($300 million) and the establishment of an Infrastructure Preparation and Innovation Facility (IPIF) ($100 million).