P3.5-B ADB-funded fisheries project gets 18-month extension

The Cabinet-level Investment Coordination Committee (ICC) has given an 18-month extension for the P3.5-billion Fisheries Resources Management Project (FRMP) due to delays including budget release, procurement and contracting consultants.

The extension also forced government to reallocate several millions of dollars and to partially cancel other funding sources.

The Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR) requested the ICC to extend the Asian Development Bank-funded program to pursue a catch-up plan for project activities caused by delays in effectivity, start-up, budget release and procurement.

The ICC, with the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA as the lead agency, approved the extension of the FRMP’s loan validity to continue addressing critical issues of fisheries resource depletion and persistent poverty among municipal fisherfolk.

The 18-month extension will mean that the loan validity will end in Dec. 31, 2005 instead of June 30, 2004.

The ICC also decided to reallocate the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) loan amounting to ¥18 million from "training" to "equipment" category, and the partial cancellation of $3.449 million for the ADB loans.

Jonathan Uy, head of ICC’s core secretariat and NEDA officer-in-charge for public investment, explained that the reallocation of categories under the JBIC loan was due to the increase in estimated costs of major equipment to be procured under the JBIC component, i.e., telecommunications, patrol boats and equipment.

"The reallocation is with the understanding that the partial cancellation of the JBIC loan amounting to Y699 million is at least the undisbursed loan amount at closing date," Uy added.

The project must remain within the P2.2-billion budget as stated in the original forward obligational authority issued by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM). The amount is also consistent with the project proposal, which DA-BFAR submitted to the ICC.

According to Uy, the project costs $89.10 million (P3.56 billion at P40:$1 exchange rate) and is financed by the ADB and the JBIC. It covers 18 bays/gulfs in 23 provinces and 100 municipalities. It has three components, namely, fisheries resource management, income diversification, and capacity building.

The FRMP aims to promote conservation and sustainable management of coastal fisheries resources by reversing the trend of fisheries resource depletion in municipal waters. It also aims to alleviate poverty in coastal areas by promoting income diversification that would reduce the coastal communities’ reliance on fishing and increase fisherfolks’ income and living standards.