Philippines, South Korea sign pact for Cebu port project

MANILA, Philippines — South Korea is providing around $1 billion in assistance to help the Philippines improve its infrastructure, one of the most decrepit in Southeast Asia, including the construction of a new port in Cebu.

South Korea and the Philippines signed a $172.63 million loan agreement for the construction of a new Cebu International Container Port on a 25-hectare reclaimed land in Consolacion, Cebu.

The Philippines will shell out a counterpart fund of P26.09 million (P1.4 billion) for the port which has a total estimated project cost of $199.25 (P10.1 billion).

The agreement was signed by Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III and Sung-Soo Eun, chairman and president of the Export Import Bank of Korea. President Rodrigo Duterte and his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in witnessed the signing of the loan.

The new port will have a berthing facility with a 500-meter quay wall length that can simultaneously accommodate two 2,000 twenty-foot equivalent vessels, operating facilities and structures for containers such as freight station and inspection shed, an access road and bridges and a dredged waterway and turning basin.

The $172.64-million loan by the Korean bank will have a preferential interest rate of 0.15 percent per annum for non-consulting services and zero percent for consulting services. The loan maturity period is 40 years and includes a 10-year grace period.

South Korea also provided loans amounting to more than $100 million for the Panguil Bay Bridge connecting Tangub, Misamis Occidental and Tubod, Lanao Del Norte, $20.63 million for the Samar Pacific Coastal Road Project, $207.88 million, Jalaur Multipurpose Project Stage II in Iloilo, $80.48 million, Integrated Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation Measures in Low Lying Areas of Pampanga Bay and $71.61 million loan for the modernization of Palawan’s Puerto Princesa Airport.

Aside from these loans, South Korea will also provide the Philippines a host of grants worth millions of dollars.

Moon said that both leaders had agreed to significantly increase the two countries’ bilateral trade which stood at $15 billion, adding that South Korea is looking forward to actively participate in the country’s national development.

Duterte said that he and Moon had discussed the two nations’ relationship in terms of political and economic cooperation, defense and security, trade and investments, infrastructure, information and smart technology, agriculture, protection of our nationals and the environment.

The Philippines also submitted the following projects for possible funding by South Korea: the Center for Agriculture and Fisheries Mechanization and Engineering Resources Network estimated to cost $6.14 million, support to Agriculture and Agribusiness Enterprises in the Bangsamoro Areas for Sustainable Development, $6 million, Hospital Public health Unit Development Project in Iloilo, P5 million,  Linking Service Delivery Networks to Communities for a Healthy Transformation, $6 million, Establishment of Geo-Kompsat-2A Satellite Analysis System and Strengthening Disaster Risk Management Capacities of National Meteorological Service in the Philippines, $5 million, Climate Resilience and Inclusive Green Growth for Poor Rural Communities, $5 million, Establishment of an Integrated 3D-GIS based Water Resources Management Information System for the Pampanga River Basin covering the province of Nueva Ecija and portion of the provinces of Tarlac, Aurora, Bataan, Pangasinan, Zambales and Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines (Phase II), $5 million, and the project on E-invoicing  System Deployment, Pilot Implementation,  Enrollment of Large Taxpayers,  System Go-Live, Sales Reporting,  Maintenance and Support, $5 million.