Japan vows continued support for Philippines infrastructure

MANILA, Philippines — The Japanese government has committed to maintain its support to the country’s infrastructure development, as well as in other areas with potential economic growth.

Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno recently met with Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Kazuhiko Koshikawa to reaffirm economic ties between the Philippines and Japan.

Diokno said Japan would continue to support the country’s infrastructure program while Koshikawa expressed optimism with the continuity of the previous administration’s flagship Build Build Build program.

The Marcos government is targeting to allocate five to six percent of gross domestic product every year for infrastructure programs.

Apart from infrastructure, Koshikawa vowed to boost cooperation in maritime security, regional development, energy, health, agriculture, space development, and disaster response and management in the Philippines.

Currently, Japan is financing several big-ticket infrastructure projects such as the Metro Manila Subway, North-South Commuter Railway project, rehabilitation of the MRT-3, Dalton Pass East Alignment Alternative Road Project, Central Mindanao Highway Project, and the Parañaque Spillway, among others.

Japan is also supporting the development of the Subic Bay masterplan and the smart city initiatives in New Clark City.

Under the Duterte administration, Japan’s financial contribution to the country reached 1.38 trillion yen, exceeding the one trillion yen committed by the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Japan is the largest provider of official development assistance, committing loans and grants worth $10.2 billion, or 31.8 percent of the country’s total ODA portfolio as of end-2021.

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The article was originally published in PhilStar Global and written by Louise Maureen Simeon.