Govt Still Wants China to Fund Railway Loan

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is aiming to keep China as the funder for three railway projects in Mindanao and Luzon. This comes as doubts if Japan will be able to finance more infrastructures due to its exposure to other big projects. DOTr’s Secretary Cesar Chavez mentioned that pitching the railway projects to other financers like Japan can prove to be difficult.

Specifically, Japan is providing the funding for the ₱873.62 billion North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) and the ₱488.48 billion Metro Manila Subway Project.

“Japan has already exposed itself so much in the railway projects. Japan is funding the Manila to Malolos (segment of NSCR).  Japan is also funding the rolling stocks and electromechanical of the NSCR, that’s huge. The total project cost of the Calamba to Clark, that’s 147 kilometers and another 35 stations, is P873 billion,” said Sec Chavez.

“The ADB (Asian Development Bank) is already exposed, JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency)is already exposed. Japan is also funding the subway. It’s too much. Can Japan extend another P142 billion for the Bicol line?” he also says.

China was supposed to finance the ₱50 billion Subic-Clark Railway Project, the ₱142 billion PNR Bicol Package 1, and the ₱83-billion Mindanao Railway Phase 1.

Under the Duterte administration, former Department of Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III decided to withdraw the country’s application for Chinese loans due to Beijing not acting on the funding requests.

Dominguez advised the Marcos administration that China would impose 3% interest rates for the railway projects while other options like Japan can give interest rates as low as 0.1%.

Source: Philstar