The Department of Finance (DOF) is working on the funding requirements for three big-ticket infrastructure projects, which include the first phase of the proposed Metro Manila Subway, in time for the possible issuance of the formal pledge by the Government of Japan or exchange of diplomatic documents during the return visit of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to the Philippines, which is scheduled to coincide with the 31st summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in November.

Besides the $7.06-billion Metro Manila Subway-Phase I, the two other major infra projects for possible Japanese funding are the $197-million Cavite Industrial Area Flood Risk Management Project of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the $4.27 billion Malolos-Clark Railway of the Department of Transportation-Bases Conversion and Development Authority (DOTr-BCDA), according to the DOF.

All amounts indicated refer to estimated total project cost.

In a report to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, the DOF’s International Finance Group (IFG) said the Cavite flood control project, which is expected to benefit some 8,000 households in the province, was among those approved by the Investment Coordination Committee-Cabinet Committee (ICC-CabCom) and the board of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) last June.

The project was recommended for official development assistance (ODA) financing from Japan by the DOF last July 18, and received a pledge from the Japanese government on August 8.

The Cavite project was approved by the Monetary Board last October 5.

At a recent DOF Executive Committee (Execom) meeting, the IFG, which is headed by Assistant Secretary Edita Tan, told Dominguez that the Malolos-Clark Railway Project also secured NEDA Board and ICC-CabCom approvals last June and is up for a possible “pre-pledge” from the Japanese government also in November.