MANILA – The Philippine and Japanese government on Tuesday inked the agreement for a a P12.4-billion official development assistance (ODA).
The assistance fund will be used to improve bridges in Metro Manila and bypass road project in Davao City.
The two yen loan projects were part of the announcement made by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during the state visit of President Aquino last June.
The Metro Manila Priority Bridges Seismic Improvement Project (approximately P3.594 billion) of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will strengthen the resilience of the country’s transport network.
The Guadalupe Bridge and Lambingan Bridge will be replaced, retrofitted and reinforced in preparation for large-scale earthquakes.
The Davao Bypass Construction Project, Package 1-South and Center Sections (approximately P8.783 billion) also by the DPWH, meanwhile, eyes to mitigate traffic congestion in Davao City.
Under the project, a two-lane, 28.8-km bypass road including a long-tunnel structure in Davao City, the biggest economic center of Mindanao, will be constructed.
The agreement was finalized by Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario and Japanese Ambassador Kazuhide Ishikawa, with Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) president Akihiko Tanaka.