ADB to release $1-M technical assistance for revival of BIMP-EAGA

DAVAO CITY – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is preparing a $1-million technical assistance grant for the revival of the Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippine (BIMP)-East Asia Growth Area (EAGA).

ADB Director for governance, finance and trade division for Southeast Asia department Ayumi Konishi said the grant will be used for capacity building of the growth area.

"It (the amount) will also be used to restructure the capacity of the East ASEAN Business Council (EABC) which would be the entity to help formulate guidelines and policies to address the major concerns or initiatives of the EAGA," Konishi said.

Among these concerns are security, lack of confidence towards the EAGA, the ADB small and medium enterprises

(SME) project, the Trans Borneo Power Grid Interconnection, trade linkages, the establishment of the BIMP-EAGA housing and infrastructure fund, the harmonization of rules and procedures of the customs, immigration, quarantine and security (CS), the BIMP-EAGA human resources development, and the so-called China challenge.

"The security concerns, as well as the lack of confidence of the business environment within the member nations is definitely a constraint," Konishi admitted.

He said the BIMP-EAGA could use the technical assistance grant to look into collaboration between member nations to fight or counter terrorism such as exchange of information and standardizing customs and security procedures.

Meanwhile, the restructuring, rebuilding and reconstituting of the BIMP-EAGA will not only look at establishing various types of linkages among the four-member nations.

The formation will be shifting its focus from big business to small business as the main player.

Likewise, trade among the four-member nations will not be limited within the formation but will also look at the prospects of a third market.

The BIMP-EAGA was formally launched in 1994. However, several internal and external elements forced the four-nation alliance to go into hibernation.

The 1997 Asian financial crisis, changes in leadership within the respective nation’s bureaucracy, and increased peace and order problems worked against its moving forward until lately.

Thus, the ongoing 8th ministerial meeting and the 11th senior officials meeting in Davao City serves as the revival of the sub-regional four-nation cooperation.

Other areas of concern during the three-day event are forestry and environment, fisheries, tourism, construction and construction materials, agro-industry, air-and sea-links, and reserach and development.