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By Darwin G. Amojelar, Reporter
THE government plans to create a project
development fund to help agencies line up priority infrastructure
projects, a National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA)
official said.
“We hope to implement it to support building
up funds to ensure the quality of proposals and preparedness,”
Rolando Tungpalan, NEDA assistant director-general told reporters.
Tungpalan said the funding requirements will be
determined by the NEDA and the Department of Budget and Management.
He said that the development fund would avoid
donor-driven projects.
As of last year, the cumulative official
development assistance (ODA) to the Philippines reached $9.28
billion for financing 125 projects. Of the total amount, $8.17
billion were project loans and $1.31 million, program loans.
By lender, the Japan Bank for International
Cooperation (JBIC) remains the Philippines’ largest source of ODA,
accounting for $2.5 billion of the total. This was followed by the
Asian Development Bank (ADB) with $2 billion, other sources at $1.9
billion, and the World Bank at $1.8 billion.
During the period, the government’s total
donor aid disbursement fell 17.9 percent to $1.62 billion from $1.97
billion in 2006. The government’s target for ODA disbursement last
year stood at $1.96 billion.
The country spent $1.03 billion of project
loans, a decline of 16 percent from $1.22 billion in 2006.
Similarly, program loans went down by 21 percent to $593 million
last year from $750 million in 2006.
“This is partly due to closing/completion of
four program loans amounting to $850 million and 18 project loans
amounting to $.1 billion,” NEDA said.
In terms of funding sources, the agency noted
spending declines with regards aid from the ADB at $419 million last
year from $833 million the previous year. On ODA sourced from other
sources, including Australia, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, the
International Fund for Agricultural Development, Korea, Kuwait, NDF,
the Netherlands, Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries,
Saudi Arabia, and Spain, the amount disbursed dropped to $185
million from $375 million previously.
Increases were noted for JBIC loans at $641
million from $633 million previously, and for the World Bank at $377
million from $133 million.
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