DA attracts 2 more foreign groups for irrigation funding

Two more foreign groups have signified interest to provide the Department of Agriculture (DA) billions of funding for the country’s massive irrigation plan, and are willing to challenge the unsolicited proposal earlier made by an Israeli group.

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said a Chinese company based in Abu Dhabi as well as an American group — names of which are yet to be disclosed — have both expressed their interest to bankroll the soon-to-be-released National Irrigation Master Plan, which involves the development of 8,000 units of Solar-Powered Irrigation System (SPIS).

The new proposals that would come from these investors should challenge the unsolicited offer earlier made by an Israeli agriculture company, which will soon be endorsed to the National Economic and Development Authority-Investment Coordination

Committee (NEDA-ICC).

It was in February when Piñol first announced that Innovative Agro Industry Ltd. (IAI), an affiliate of LR Group, a leading project development company in Israel, has offered to fund and develop the SPIS units that the Philippines need.

Under its unsolicited proposal, IAI is willing to provide the technology as well as funding that is enough to build as much as 8,000 units of SPIS in the country.

To build this much SPIS, a huge funding requirement of about P44 billion is needed, something that the Israeli firm could provide, IAI Chairman and Executive Director Ilan Weiss earlier told Piñol.

The agriculture chief said the loan will be payable in 10 years with two year grace period.

Piñol said that IAI’s loan proposal, which was backed by the Israeli government, would now be a subject to a Swiss Challenge since there’s two more companies interested to propose a project of the same nature and size.