ADB offers P184-B devt aid to RP for next 5 years

Economy

Written by Wilfredo Rodolfo III / Reporter

Thursday, 22 July 2010 20:19

THE Asian Development Bank (ADB) has earmarked up to $4 billion (P184 billion) in development assistance to the Philippines in the next five years, its top officials said on Thursday. The bank’s top officers are on an eight-month-long “review” of their operational strategy in the country, with the first stop in Cebu City. The review aims to identify priority areas that need assistance, Neera Jain, ADB country manager, said in Cebu City. Their consultations with officials concerned will help the ADB craft its new five-year development plan in the country. The bank made the rounds of the city, meeting local government officials, line agencies and the private sector to get their inputs. The officers will go to Davao City in August. “We are seeing various recommendations but those were desk studies. We need to see the situation from the ground up,” Jain said. “We know we need to do a better job. We are on listening mode now.” Jain brought the entire country team into the consultations. He identified private-sector participation as key in the Visayas; poverty is the top priority in Mindanao. In Luzon, particularly in Calabarzon, he said, equitable growth is being considered. Initially, Jain said there is a need to focus on infrastructure, the environment and governance in the country­—areas where he sees ADB can be of help. “It’s not a luxury to go to the private sector; it is a must,” Jain said. He acknowledged that the ADB needs to beef up its cooperation with the private sector in the Visayas. Its last assistance to the island came in the form of a $120-million loan to a coal-fired power plant being constructed by Kepc-SPC. Jain said they are looking at funding more development efforts.