DBP inks $50-M loan with WB, DOF

MANILA, Philippines - The Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), the World Bank and the Department of Finance (DOF) signed recently a $50-million loan agreement for the development of local infrastructure and services.

DBP president and chief executive officer Francisco F. del Rosario Jr. said the loan would go to the Regional Infrastructure for Growth Project (RIGP).

“It (the project) is designed to stimulate physical and economic integration among a number of local government units (LGUs) as well as support post-disaster initiatives through improved access to finance,” Del Rosario said.

The loan facility would also build on the government financial institution’s existing support for improved physical and economic integration through intermodal systems. Intermodal systems refer to the integration of different transportation modes or types such as land and sea, or land and air.

DBP has helped develop the roll-on roll-off (RORO) network under its CRUISE (Connecting Rural Urban Intermodal Systems Efficiently) program, which encourages LGUs to work with each other and with private sector partners to improve connectivity and access to better infrastructure development and services, especially to poor communities.

“RIGP will finance a wide array of local public infrastructure and services that will promote physical and economic integration among LGUs. Priority projects include those that are identified in LGUs’ local development and physical framework plans,” Del Rosario said.

He explained that DBP will lend to LGUs, public utilities or eligible local government-owned-and-controlled corporations, and private sector enterprises in developing local infrastructure as well as provide services through public-private partnerships (PPP).

It will also channel financing through wholesale loans to eligible private financial institutions (PFIs) for on-lending to local service providers.

Among the eligible projects for financing include: disaster risk mitigation (sea walls, flood protection, slope protection); environmental infrastructure (water supply, solid waste facilities, drainage systems); agriculture support systems (irrigation, small impounding reservoirs, supply chain infrastructure); social (school buildings, hospitals, health centers); transport (provincial and local roads, local ports, public transport facilities); and tourism support (eco-parks, convention centers, heritage sites, resorts).