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THE
Philippines is in the process of securing a low-interest
loan from Spain which will be used to construct a
hundred solar-powered modular ports and passenger
terminal buildings all over the archipelago.
Dubbed
GMA Maritime Port Access, the project will be funded by
a P10-billion loan which will carry a 2.2-percent annual
interest, payable between 10 and 15 years, with a
three-year grace period. Expected to be implemented
before President Arroyo steps down in 2010, the
borrowing will be paid for by the national government.
The
money will be coursed through the Bangko Bilbao Vizcaya
Argentaria, Spain’s biggest bank, according to
Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) general manager Oscar
M. Sevilla. He said the government is currently
determining how it will establish a counterpart fund,
which is normally required of projects funded by
official development assistance (ODA) loans.
“The
Department of Finance will sign the loan in behalf of
the DOTC [Department of Transportation and
Communications]. PPA will only be the implementing
body,” Sevilla said Thursday at the sidelines of the
inauguration of PPA’s new building in
Manila.
The modular ports, estimated to be worth between P40
million and P50 million each, can be installed within
three months, will be powered by Spanish solar power
technology, and can last for three to five decades.
According to Sevilla, the cost of the facilities is
cheaper, compared to terminals funded by the Japan Bank
for International Cooperation.
If the
project pushes through, the project will be the latest
ODA that the port body will embark upon since the
endorsement of the P6.16-billion Batangas Port
Development Phase II.
The
arrangement was hatched during the President’s state
visit to Spain last December 2, in which Sevilla and
some port officials were among the members of the
Philippine delegation. |
