Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar; Export-Import Bank of Korea Chief Representative Sungho Jang; Finance Undersecretary Mark Joven; Public Works and Highways Undersecretary Emil Sadain; National Irrigation Administration Deputy Administrator C’zar Sulaik; Embassy of Korea Minister Counsellor Kim Sun Young; fellow workers in government, friends in media.
This year, we expect President Duterte’s Build, Build, Build program to be firing on all cylinders. The stage has been set. The national expenditure plan has been enacted on time this year. Our infrastructure agencies are poised to execute hundreds of infrastructure projects all over the country in the next few months.
We realize the amount of work required and the magnitude of costs incurred in what are called “project preparatory activities.” These activities include pre-feasibility and feasibility studies, detailed engineering designs, and safeguard assessment analyses.
These are necessary and integral aspects of any project as they help us determine whether a particular project is economically viable and sustainable over the long term and, ultimately, whether the Filipino people will reap the economic benefits and outweigh the public resources that the government might invest. Rigorous analyses also guide us in determining the best sources of financing for any given project.
Today, we are happy to have the signed loan documents for the Philippines-Korea Project Preparation Facility exchanged between the two parties. This loan was approved by the NEDA Board to support the swift implementation of infrastructure projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways, the National Irrigation Administration, and other relevant agencies. The infusion of resources will enhance our ability to undertake project preparatory activities in a timely and efficient manner, while drawing on the best available expertise.
This project preparatory facility will have a total cost of about 71 million US dollars or 3.87 billion pesos. Of this total, 50 million US dollars or 2.73 billion pesos will be accessed through the loan from the Export-Import Bank of Korea Economic Development Fund. The balance will be financed by the counterpart fund of the Philippine government through the project’s implementing agencies.
The Philippines and Korean governments are confident that this loan will hasten the execution of a number of key water and irrigation, flood control, and road and bridge projects all over the archipelago.
It is worthy to note that this loan has very friendly terms. It charges a zero-interest rate. It has a repayment period of 40 years, inclusive of a 10-year grace period. Service charges are set at only 10 basis points or one-tenth of one percent of each disbursement.
This is the second loan agreement we have signed under the 1 billion US dollar pledge of South Korea in official development assistance to the Philippines under President Duterte’s term.
We thank the Republic of Korea for the staunch support it has extended in assisting our continued economic emergence. Please be assured that we will strictly monitor the projects so that no Korean taxpayer’s money is wasted and that the projects will bring lasting benefits to the Filipino people.
Thank you and good morning.
-@@@-