Gov’t secures P98.7 billion JICA loans for railway, flood control

MANILA, Philippines — The government has secured P98.69 billion worth of loans from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for the implementation of a railway and flood control project under the Duterte administration’s Build Build Build program.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez and JICA Southeast Asia and Pacific Department director general Shigenori Ogawa inked Monday the P80.47 billion ($1.54 billion) loan agreement for the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) Extension Project, which represents the first tranche of Japan’s total loan commitment for the project.

They also signed an P18.22 billion loan accord for the Pasig-Marikina River Channel Improvement Project (Phase IV).

“Let me thank the government of Japan for the generosity you have shown, the confidence you hold in our ability to undertake these projects, and the contagious optimism we share in the future of this great nation,” Dominguez said in his speech during the ceremonial signing ceremony.

Both loans carry an interest rate of 0.1 percent for non-consulting services and 0.01 percent for consulting services, payable in 40 years with a 12-year grace period.

According to Dominguez, the NSCR Extention Project is the biggest project under the Duterte administration’s Build Build Build program, with a total project cost of P628.42 billion ($12.03 billion).

Of the amount, Dominguez said about P488 billion is proposed to be co-financed by JICA (P201 billion) and the Asian Development Bank (P286 billion). The remaining P140 billion will be shouldered by the Philippine government.

To be implemented by the Department of Transportation, the NSCR Extension Project is a continuation of the ongoing JICA-funded NSCR Project, which runs from Malolos to Tutuban.

The 51-kilometer north extension of the railway will run from Malolos in Bulacan to Clark International Airport in Pampanga, while the 55-kilometer south extension will run from Solis, Manila to Calamba, Laguna.

Dominguez said the commuter rail is designed to accommodate the anticipated increase in passenger volumes in the future, with a capacity to run 15 trains per hour.