Philippines receives offers from Japan, South Korea, India to fund railway projects
Japan, South Korea, and India have expressed their willingness to provide funding for three major railway projects in the Philippines, collectively valued at nearly $5 billion.
This comes after the Philippines discontinued China as a funding source for these projects last year.
Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista stated that the Philippine government might seek official development assistance (ODA) from these countries or explore other funding options, including government contributions or private sector investments, according to a report from Reuters.
The three railway projects in question are the Subic-Clark Railway Project, the Philippine National Railways South Long-Haul Project, and the Davao-Digos segment of the Mindanao Railway Project, with a combined value of $4.95 billion. Efforts to secure loans from China for these projects, initiated in 2018 during former President Rodrigo Duterte's term, had shown no progress.
Given the lack of headway in loan negotiations with China, the government sought alternative financing solutions. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had ordered officials to reevaluate the loan agreements with China, leading to the search for other funding sources.
Marcos, who took office in June last year, aims to modernize the country's railway system, which lags far behind other Asian urban centers in terms of railway infrastructure. Currently, the Philippines has only 77km of operational railway, compared to more than 1,100km before World War II.
Notably, construction of the Philippines' first subway train is already underway in the capital region, funded by loans from Japan.
