PHL, China ink bilateral financing agreements and documents

The Philippines and China signed on January 4, 2023 six bilateral agreements and one project completion document to support the financing of key projects during President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s three-day state visit to the People’s Republic of China.

“We welcome China’s support to the Marcos Jr. administration’s Build Better More infrastructure agenda. The signing of these agreements demonstrates the strong commitment between China and the Philippines to deepen bilateral cooperation through infrastructure development,” said Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno, who was part of the President’s official delegation.

Secretary Diokno signed the agreements and completion document on behalf of the Philippine government, witnessed by President Marcos Jr. and Chinese President Xi Jinping in ceremonies held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Four individual loan agreements, with an aggregate amount of USD201.8 million, were co-signed by Export-Import Bank of China (China Eximbank) Chairman Wu Fulin for the financing of the Priority Bridges Crossing Pasig-Marikina River and Manggahan Floodway. With the signing of the loan agreements, the cumulative loan commitments with China for ongoing projects now stand at USD1.06 billion.

Meanwhile, the Framework Agreement for the implementation of the Priority Bridges Crossing Pasig-Marikina River and Manggahan Floodway under Chinese Government Financing, co-signed by China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) Chairman Luo Zhaohui, is a precursor agreement which gives the Philippines access to the Renminbi (RMB)-denominated government concessional loan (GCL) facility portion of the loan.

Secretary Diokno and CIDCA Chairman Luo also signed the Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation Between the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines. The grant agreement provides RMB1.5 billion, equivalent to about USD217.7 million or PHP12.2 billion, for projects to be agreed between China and the Philippines based on the development plan and specific needs of the Philippine government.

Finally, Secretary Diokno and Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao signed the Handover Certificate for the Binondo-Intramuros and Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge – the two China-Aid Bridges completed on April 13, 2022 and September 17, 2021, respectively.

The two bridges, spanning Manila, Makati, and Mandaluyong, seek to improve the capacity and efficiency of the road transport network in Metro Manila.