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THE
World Bank (WB) is willing to extend financial support
of as much as $850 million to $900 million to the
Philippines every year, starting the bank’s 2008 fiscal
year.
World
Bank country director Bert Hofman told reporters the
amount would still be determined by the government and
may be lower since the government is now in a better
fiscal position to finance its own projects.
Hofman
said that among the projects discussed in the recent
program meeting of the bank and the National Economic
and Development Authority (Neda) were infrastructure,
agriculture reform, irrigation and support for the
conditional cash transfer for the poor. He also said
that while the World Bank will be extending funding for
these projects, it will also be extending its technical
expertise, particularly for irrigation projects.
Earlier,
the bank indicated it may increase its lending
assistance to the Philippines to as much as $1.7 billion
if the government is able to continue its fiscal reforms
that have resulted in economic gains for the country.
Initially, the WB allotted $1.8 billion as indicative
funding for projects for the Philippines under the CAS
from 2005 to 2008.
World
Bank Philippines acting country director Jehan
Arulpragasam earlier said that aiming to sustain the
country’s economic gains should be fueled by the payoffs
from the recent fiscal reforms implemented by the
government.
In its
CAS Progress Report, the World Bank Group said
maintaining sound fiscal policy remains vital to
achieving the twin development goals of economic growth
and social inclusion.
The bank
said fiscal reforms, particularly the positive efforts
of the government on the tax effort, will not only
reduce risks to macroeconomic stability but also
generate resources to deliver social and infrastructure
services. |
