DOF pitches 3 infra projects to AIIB for financing

The Department of Finance (DOF) has pitched additional three infrastructure projects for possible financing support from the Beijing-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

In a statement, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said that the government is currently seeking more financing support from AIIB for the Duterte administration’s other big-ticket infrastructure projects.

Among the projects pitched to the AIIB include the Metro Manila Bus Rapid Transit System (Phase 3), the Pasacao-Balatan Tourism Coastal Highway in Camarines Sur, and the Camarines Sur Expressway Project (San Fernando-Pili Section).

The BRT Phase-3 will run from Bonifacio Global City in Taguig to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

The AIIB has so far committed to co-finance with the World Bank the first phase of the Metro Manila Flood Management Project, which will be built to improve flood forecasting, reduce longterm flooding and modernize pumping stations.

The AIIB will also co-finance the building of new pumping stations in the National Capital Region and its surrounding areas.

“We are hopeful that with the approval of the funding for this project, the AIIB would find it feasible to invest in other big-ticket infrastructure projects under the Duterte administration’s "Build, Build, Build" program,” Dominguez said.

Dominguez was in India this week attending the AIIB Annual meetings. The finance chief was among the inaugural speakers at the first set of seminars of the AIF following its launching yesterday.

“The Philippines understands the urgency of building up our infrastructure base,” Dominguez said. “We subscribe to the objective of enhancing regional connectivity. We grasp the strategic importance of developing the Southeast Asian region as a strong base for trade.”

Dominguez said this is why President Duterte launched the “Build, Build, Build” program, which involves 75 highimpact projects, of which 35 have already hurdled the approval processes and are ready for execution.

Ten of these projects are moving into the construction stage this year, with 25.4 percent of the national budget committed to infrastructure investments, which is equivalent to 6.3 percent of the Philippines’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

By 2022, Dominguez said the government projects public spending on infrastructure to increase to 7.3 percent of GDP.

“This is the highest investment in infrastructure in our history and, as a percentage of GDP, possibly the highest in the region,” Dominguez said.

Such massive spending has been made possible by the Duterte administration’s comprehensive tax reform program (CTRP), which has now started to ensure steady and reliable revenue flows for the government, he said. (CSL)