THE National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) said China remained keen on funding local projects despite the controversies hounding the now-scrapped national broadband network (NBN) government contract with Chinese company ZTE.

Neda acting director general Augusto Santos said that when the new Chinese ambassador Song Tao paid him a visit, the envoy affirmed the intention of the Chinese government to push through with the five-year bilateral-loan pact—Joint Action Plan for Strategic Cooperation—between China and the Philippines.

“There is no decision to put all Chinese projects on hold. China is still keen on continuing projects in the Philippines,” Santos told reporters on Thursday.

Santos said the framework is still being evaluated by the Chinese government and may be signed within the first half of the year. Based on the initial draft, the framework will focus on infrastructure and agriculture-related projects in the Philippines.

Santos added that the framework may also include several new rail projects, including the extension of the LRT Line 1 from the Baclaran station to Bacoor, Cavite, as well as a housing project that was removed from the old framework.

The old framework of the loan arrangement between the Philippines and China cost $1.1 billion, which included the construction of the Northrail, South Railway Project, the NBN and the cyber education project.

Currently, the country has several projects under government-to-government arrangement with China.

There are four projects in the pipeline, four ongoing and two that already have loan agreements.

 Neda documents show that among the projects in the pipeline are the $169.501-million Main Line Southrail Phase I which will run from Calamba to Lucena City; the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System projects, the $129.37-million Angat Water Utilization and Aqueduct Improvement Project Phase II and the $958.59-million Laiban Dam Project; and the Department of Education’s $551-million cyber education project.

The ongoing projects, on the other hand, include the National Irrigation Authority’s $35-million Banaoang Pump Irrigation Project; the Department of Agriculture’s   $27.76-million General Santos Fish Port Complex Expansion/Improvement Project; North Luzon Railways Corp.  (NLRC) $503.05-million Northrail Project Phase I Section 1 from Caloocan to Malolos; and the Bureau of Custom’s $50-million Nonintrusive Container-Inspection System Project.

Neda documents also showed that committed projects with signed loan agreements are the NLRC’s $673.66-million Northrail Project Phase I Section 2 from Malolos to Clark and the BOC’s $115-million Non-Intrusive Container Inspection System Project Phase 2.

THE National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) said China remained keen on funding local projects despite the controversies hounding the now-scrapped national broadband network (NBN) government contract with Chinese company ZTE.

THE Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) has suspended its new direct-hiring policy toward overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), apparently because of pressures from recruitment agencies and migrants themselves.

THE International Service for the Acquisition of Agribiotech Applications (ISAAA) challenged the Philippines to take the lead in the production of genetically modified (GM) crops in Asia.

ZAMBOANGA CITY—The Canadian International Development Agency (Cida) has committed to support plans to unleash the full potential of the seaweed industry in the Southern Philippines, specifically in the province of Tawi-Tawi.

POOR sanitation costs the Philippines around P77.8 billion in economic losses, according to a new study commissioned to launch the International Year of Sanitation (IYS) on February 18.

CEBU CITY—The Korean Electric Co. (Kepco)-SPC Power Corp. (KSPC) consortium on Thursday held a groundbreaking ceremony to start the construction of its 200-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant in Naga City, south of Cebu City, while announcing that most of its expected output had already been contracted to distributors.

THE Philippines should be more assertive and creative in international trade, Sen. Edgardo Angara said, adding that the country should not just rely on international institutions and must instead pursue its own bilateral and multilateral trade.