So many needed infrastructure projects

WHEN China President Xi Jinping visits the Philippines this November, he will sign several agreements for a number of projects ranging from railways and bridges to dams and irrigation, to a long-awaited joint exploration for oil and energy in the South China Sea. Secretary Benjamin Diokno of the Department of Budget and Management said at least 10 financing agreements will be signed during the visit.

President Xi will be bringing with him some $3.5 billion in loans for the construction of a 600kilometer railway from Manila to Matnog, Sorsogon, centerpiece of the first group of projects China is financing under the Duterte administration’s “Build, Build, Build” program. Included in this group of projects are the 12.7billion Chico River pump irrigation project for which groundbreaking rites were recently held and the P10.9-billion Kaliwa Dam that will be a new water source for Metro Manila. This dam in Tanay, Rizal, with its water supply tunnel and other attendant structures will be the new source of water for Metro Manila’s fast-growing population. It will ease the demand on the Angat Dam, which is now Metro Manila’s sole water storage facility.

Another agreement that should be finalized during the visit is for a joint exploration for oil and energy in the South China Sea, particularly in Service Contract 72 covering Recto Bank, known internationally as Reed Bank. A great deal of preparations are needed for this project, including the lifting of the government’s declaration of a moratorium on oil exploration in disputed areas in the West Philippine Sea – the waters within the 370-kilometer Exclusive Economic Zone of the Philippines in the South China Sea.

The projects in a second group are flood control facilities in Metro Manila and Mindanao, connecting bridges in the Visayas, rehabilitation of hydropower systems, and several secondary railways.

Two projects are covered by grants, not loans. These are the 11.29-billion Estrella-Pantaleon bridge across the Pasig between Makati and Mandaluyong and the 14.24-billion BinondoIntramuros bridge. These should help ease Metro Manila’s traffic which has reached formidable proportions. As these are grants, they should not be cause for fears in some quarters that the Philippines may be falling into a debt trap.

There will be critics of these projects for political and other reasons, but there is no doubt that they are needed for the country’s development. We thus welcome them along with other projects of the “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure program of the administration and we welcome the assistance offered by China through President Xi Jinping who will be our honored guest this November.