China as convenor of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) assures the Philippines of access to grants for the country’s infrastructure projects.
The Department of Finance on Tuesday reported this development, saying it has secured a stronger commitment from the multilateral lender in discussions at the annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the AIIB held from 21 to 27 September 2024 in Uzbekistan.
“Recognizing that project implementation delays equate to development denied, we request even stronger support from the Bank through regular comprehensive portfolio reviews to assist the government and the AIIB project teams in promptly identifying project implementation issues, coming up with potential solutions and strategies, and facilitating closer monitoring and coordination among relevant stakeholders, with the objective of resolving various implementation-specific concerns encountered,” DOF Undersecretary Joven Balbosa said.
The annual meeting convened governors and delegates from AIIB member countries, partners, business leaders, civil society organizations, and various sector experts, to discuss the Bank’s operations and strategies, and set future priorities in the context of existing and emerging global challenges. Undersecretary Balbosa represented Finance Secretary and AIIB Governor for the Philippines Ralph G. Recto at the annual meeting.
The DOF was able to secure AIIB’s commitment to support the Philippines in accessing grants through the Multilateral Cooperation Center for Development Finance (MCDF) Finance Facility with the AIIB as implementing partner. The MCDF is a multilateral financial mechanism designed to promote high-quality infrastructure and connectivity investments in developing countries.
The AIIB further responded to the Philippine government’s call to assign dedicated country focals to ease coordination and further strengthen partnerships, leading to the timely delivery of projects and programs that contribute to the Marcos, Jr. administration’s vision of a comfortable and secure life for Filipinos. Established in 2016, the AIIB is a multilateral development bank (MDB) focused on developing Asia, and composed of 109 member countries including the Philippines as one of its 57 founding members.
Among the AIIB-supported active projects in the Philippines are the Metro Manila Flood Management Project co-financed with the World Bank, and the Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge Project co-financed with the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
The Philippines is also processing AIIB loans for other big-ticket infrastructure projects including the Laguna Lakeshore Road Network Project – Phase 1 and the Metro Manila Rail Transit Line 4 (MRT4) Project, slated for 2024 and 2025 respectively––both co-financed with ADB.
This also includes the AIIB’s first standalone project, the Facility for Accelerating Studies for Infrastructure (FAST-Infra), targeted for signing this year. The project will support the formulation of a transport infrastructure master plan.
The DOF delegation also held bilateral meetings with AIIB executive officials, including outgoing vice president for strategy and policy Danny Alexander, and acting vice president for investment clients Rajat Misra.
Along with undersecretary Balbosa, the DOF delegation consisted of OIC assistant secretary Donalyn Minimo and representatives from the International Finance Group (IFG).
