Phl, RoK sign $3B loan package
Manalo acknowledged the swift and steady support of the Republic of Korea in Philippine development efforts
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Daily TribuneManalo acknowledged the swift and steady support of the Republic of Korea in Philippine development efforts
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Photo | DFA
The Philippines and the Republic of Korea on Thursday signed a Framework Arrangement on loans from the Economic Development Cooperation Fund amounting to a maximum of $3 billion.
The FA was signed by Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo and his counterpart, Korean Ambassador to the Philippines Kim In Chul, in ceremonies at the Department of Foreign Affairs in Pasay City.
The DFA said the signing of the FA will enable the Philippine government to obtain Official Development Assistance or ODA loans from the Korean government.
Manalo acknowledged the swift and steady support of the Republic of Korea in Philippine development efforts. He also noted the firm foundation of trust and friendship between the people of the Philippines and the RoK.
The purpose and generous amount of loan assistance highlight the alignment of the thrust of the Korean government with Philippine socio-economic priorities, according to the DFA chief.
For his part, Kim stressed that the deal between Korea and the Philippines will help the Philippines become an upper-middle-income economy.
The DFA said the RoK became the country's sixth ODA source last year, which funded big-ticket infrastructure projects such as the P11.2 billion Jalaur River Multipurpose Dam Project; P9.2-billion port with cargo handling capacity on reclaimed land in the Cebu International Port; and the P7.4 billion two-lane bridge across the Panguil Bay, which connects Misamis Occidental and Lanao del Norte.
The signing of the FA paves the way for the implementation of more development cooperation projects, the agency said. "The amount is three times that of the previous 2017-2022 term arrangement," it added.
Major loan projects in the pipeline include, among others, the Panay-Guimaras-Negros Island Bridges Project, the Mandaue-Consolacion-Liloan Bypass Road and the Ilocos Norte and Abra Irrigation Project.
The FA will also fund other flood control projects under the Philippine-Korea Project Preparation Facility.
