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DAVAO CITY—The
Davao Integrated Development Program (DIDP) signed
Wednesday a financing agreement with a United Kingdom
investment house for several projects of the DIDP listed
in its master plan.
Gov.
Rodolfo del Rosario of Davao del Norte, chairman of DIDP,
signed the memorandum of agreement (MOA) with Mohamad
Faisal Kasim and John Tapp, chief executive officer and
director and company secretary, respectively, of
UK-based MCC Capital Resources Ltd.
Vicente
Lao, president of the Mindanao Business Council (MinBC),
also signed the MOA for the business sector.
The DIDP
is the growth area development plan for the three Davao
provinces, including Compostela Valley province. The
DIDP has identified at least two major projects: the
light rail mass transit system connecting Digos City,
the capital of Davao del Sur, with the major pedestrian
points of Davao City, and the cities of Panabo and Tagum
of Davao del Norte; and the bridge connecting the resort
island of Samal and Davao City.
Del
Rosario said that the MCC Capital Resources Ltd.
committed to assist the local governments in
implementing the projects and recommending the different
options at raising revenues, including the possibility
of floating municipal bonds.
He said
that MCC Capital would not only broker the two major
projects “but it is our understanding that it would help
fund all the other projects identified in our master
plan.”
The DIDP
has also listed the reclamation project in the
mothballed Santa Ana wharf here and developing it into a
waterfront attraction, a common service laboratory
facility for the region, a marine fisheries facility and
putting up strategic fish landing stations along the
Davao Gulf coastline.
In the
MOA, the MCC Capital Resources Ltd. “shall conduct
studies, provide expert assistance and submit proposals
for the development and realization of the Mindanao Rail
and
Samal Bridge
projects, modern mixed use commercial and residential
hubs, among others, in accordance with and subject to
the provisions of applicable Philippine laws.
MCC’s
Kasim said the local governments in the DIDP have
demonstrated their financial health in undertaking the
big projects, citing the huge accumulation of dollars
from mostly their overseas Filipinos.
“We
would like the local governments to support us in
helping them,” he told a brief news conference after the
signing of the MOA at the Department of Trade and
Industry office here. He confirmed that many of the
world’s major investment houses were awash with money
seeking to finance big projects. |
