The South Korean government has provided $50 million or Php2.73-billion loan to support the preparatory works of Philippine infrastructure problems.
This loan will finance the preparatory engineering services of key infrastructure projects of both Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and National Irrigation Administration (NIA) such as feasibility studies, detailed engineering-design, and environmental impact assessment.
RELATED STORY: Duterte signs Php4.1T 2020 national budget
The loan agreement for Philippines-Korea Project Preparation Facility in Manila is signed between Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III and Chief Representative Sungho Jang of the Export-Import Bank of Korea (Kexim) on Tuesday.
Dominguez said the project has a total cost of $71 million or P3.87 billion, while the remaining balance of which will be financed by the counterpart of the Philippine gov’t thru the projects’ implementation implementing agencies.
He also added that the loan has ‘very friendly’ terms wherein the service charges are set at only 10 basis points or a tenth of 1% of each disbursement.
“It charges a zero-interest rate. It has a repayment period of 40 years inclusive of a 10-year grace period,” Dominguez pointed out.
Meanwhile, Chief Representative Jang hoped that the facility will “play a key role not only in the conceptualization but also in the implementation of, strong and interactive programs and initiatives” of the government’s infrastructure projects also known as ‘Build! Build! Build!.’
