THE Korea Economic Development and Cooperation Fund (EDCF) is keen on extending a $200-million to $300-million annual Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) loan to the Philippines in the next three years.

Neda deputy director general Rolando Tungpalan said the EDCF is looking into financing several infrastructure projects in the Philippines and the creation of compact loans for small-scale projects.

“We are looking to define this agreement within the year, possibly by September,” Tungpalan told BusinessMirror.

The infrastructure projects the EDCF is looking into are the Quirino Highway Project and the Gapan-San Fernando-Olongapo (GSO) road-widening project.

The P2.3 billion-worth Quirino Highway Project will involve placing an asphalt concrete overlay of some 21.655 km and concreting/asphalt concrete overlay of another 69.537 km.

The GSO widening and Emergency Dredging Project is estimated to cost $22.4 million.

The project also includes the reconstruction of the Santa Cruz Bridge and pilot dredging works on the Parac-Gumain River.

Tungpalan said the amount of the loan to come from EDCF will enable the Philippines to finance compact loans that have smaller amounts but can be processed faster than other loans for immediate projects.

The EDCF is a bilateral ODA loan program established by the Korean government to help developing countries achieve rapid industrial growth and improve their economic stability.

THE National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Investment Coordination Committee (ICC)-Cabinet Committee (CC) has approved more than P30 billion-worth of new infrastructure projects.

COMBINED fresh investments registered with the Board of Investments (BOI) and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) increased by 30 percent to P130 billion in the first half of the year compared to the same period last year.

THE Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) and the Manila Water Co. Inc. (MWC) will evaluate the viability of extending by at least another 10 years the concession period covering the East Zone as a way of mitigating the impact of tariff adjustments that may arise from new water projects.

LOCAL banana exporters would have to wait longer for the reopening of the Australian market for their produce following Biosecurity Australia’s (BA) admission that it could conclude its evaluations by mid-2008.

THE Korea Economic Development and Cooperation Fund (EDCF) is keen on extending a $200-million to $300-million annual Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) loan to the Philippines in the next three years.

BRINGING more relief to households from having to pay for higher cooking gas prices, local oil companies over the weekend announced that they have reduced the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to reflect international contract prices this month.