Manila gets massive China loans days before Duterte leaves office
The sum would be used to build a bridge connecting President Rodrigo Duterte’s hometown Davao City with Samal Island.
June 15, 2022
The Philippines has borrowed P17.4 billion ($326.2 million) from China to build a bridge connecting President Rodrigo Duterte’s hometown Davao City and Samal Island, the Department of Finance (DOF) said on Tuesday (June 14).
Last Monday (June 13), Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III on behalf of the Philippines and Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian representing China exchanged loan documents on the 2.3-billion renminbi financing—the outgoing Duterte administration’s first official development assistance (ODA) denominated in the Chinese currency. In the past, the Philippines’ ODA loans from China were denominated in US dollars.
China’s newest loan to the Philippines was slapped with an interest rate of 2 percent per annum, payable in 20 years plus a seven-year grace period, the DOF said in a statement.
This Chinese financing for the four-lane Samal Island-Davao City connector will bankroll 90 percent of the project’s design-and-build contract amounting to P19.3 billion.
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) earlier tapped China Road and Bridge Corp. to build the 3.9-kilometer bridge. The DOF said this bridge “will significantly cut travel time between Davao City and Samal Island, and reduce the dependency on ferry services.”
“The Samal Island-Davao City connector project complements the Mindanao spatial strategy/development framework 2015-2045, the Davao regional development plan, and the Davao Gulf area development plan 2011-2030, which all aim to facilitate commerce and trade, generate jobs, create wealth among the local government units (LGUs) in Mindanao, and share the benefits of its growth to more remote municipalities, including Samal Island,” the DOF said.
The sum would be used to build a bridge connecting President Rodrigo Duterte’s hometown Davao City with Samal Island.
Ben O. de Vera
Philippine Daily Inquirer
June 15, 2022
The Philippines has borrowed P17.4 billion ($326.2 million) from China to build a bridge connecting President Rodrigo Duterte’s hometown Davao City and Samal Island, the Department of Finance (DOF) said on Tuesday (June 14).
Last Monday (June 13), Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III on behalf of the Philippines and Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian representing China exchanged loan documents on the 2.3-billion renminbi financing—the outgoing Duterte administration’s first official development assistance (ODA) denominated in the Chinese currency. In the past, the Philippines’ ODA loans from China were denominated in US dollars.
China’s newest loan to the Philippines was slapped with an interest rate of 2 percent per annum, payable in 20 years plus a seven-year grace period, the DOF said in a statement.
This Chinese financing for the four-lane Samal Island-Davao City connector will bankroll 90 percent of the project’s design-and-build contract amounting to P19.3 billion.
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) earlier tapped China Road and Bridge Corp. to build the 3.9-kilometer bridge. The DOF said this bridge “will significantly cut travel time between Davao City and Samal Island, and reduce the dependency on ferry services.”
“The Samal Island-Davao City connector project complements the Mindanao spatial strategy/development framework 2015-2045, the Davao regional development plan, and the Davao Gulf area development plan 2011-2030, which all aim to facilitate commerce and trade, generate jobs, create wealth among the local government units (LGUs) in Mindanao, and share the benefits of its growth to more remote municipalities, including Samal Island,” the DOF said.
