Gov’t to implement P38.28-B FAPs this yr

MANILA, Philippines - The government plans to implement P38.28 billion worth of foreign assisted projects (FAPs) this year, slightly lower than last year’s P39.6 billion.

The Department of Finance (DOF) said the country expects to receive around P26 billion worth of donor financing, with Japan accounting for the biggest source of funding assistance.

Of the programmed FAPs, counterpart funding accounted for P11.74 billion while P545.84 million will be  in the form of grants.

Japan’s contribution for this year is higher than the previous year’s P7.29 billion.  The Japanese government extends support through the Japan International Cooperation Agency, Japan Export-Import Bank, and Japan Bank International Cooperation.

The Asian Development Bank is the second largest donor for FAPs with P5.18 billion while the International Fund for Reconstruction & Development is extending P3.67 billion.

The ADB is  one of the country’s biggest source of dollar-denominated program loans.

France is providing P2 billion while Korea is donating P1.96 billion.  The United States, on the other hand, is putting in P851 million.

Most of the FAPs are infrastructure-related which include the construction and rehabilitation of roads and bridges.  The government has been scaling up infra spending to further pump-prime the local economy.

The rest of the loans are distributed to the Department of Agrarian Reform, Department of Transportation and Communication, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Science and Technology, Social Welfare Development and Department of Energy.

In the past, the Department of Budget and Management had frowned on FAPs because the government could not provide counterpart financing.