Zhangjiajie, China”•China’s Belt and Road Initiative will release 10 billion renminbi or $1.5 billion next month to finance development projects in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, including the Philippines.
The amount is a part of the initial 50 billion renminbi or about $7.2 billion in funding that China is making available to countries covered by the so-called Silk Road Economic Belt and Maritime Silk Road.
The Belt and Road Initiative is a regional concept created by China to connect Asia with Africa and Europe through land and sea networks along six corridors. It aims to foster cohesiveness in the region and economic growth.
The Silk Road Chamber of International Commerce is set to announce on Oct. 16 the first funding downloaded from the program at the opening of the 2018 Silk Road Summit here.
“We are giving the Philippines unlimited access to this fund provided that the projects they propose will pass the evaluation of the technical committee,” said SRCIC chairman Lu Jianzhong.
Candidates for the Silk Road projects are cultural, tourism and environmental project proposals, he said.
The chamber will also pitch for development projects that may help resolve issues on the environment such as new technologies that can de-clog and sanitize sewer systems.
Jianzhong said the Philippines could implement these projects to improve the efficiency of sewerage/drainage systems, prevent flash flooding and restore the integrity of old sewerage pipes and canals.
“Priority for projects like this are the Asean and Silk Road countries. These countries are the target markets for the bulk of the 10 billion renminbi,” he said.
The chamber agreed to raise the initial 50 billion renminbi in 2017 to get the program going.
There are now 129 Silk Road chambers from 177 Silk Road countries, including the Philippine Silk Road International Chamber of Commerce which is chaired by Francis Chua.
The Belt and Road Initiative was patterned after the Silk Road established during the Han Dynasty 2,000 years ago. It was an ancient network of trade routes that connected China to the Mediterranean via Eurasia for centuries.
It comprises a Silk Road Economic Belt – a trans-continental passage that links China with Southeast Asia, South Asia, Central Asia, Russia and Europe by land – and a Maritime Silk Road, a sea route connecting China’s coastal regions with Southeast and South Asia, the South Pacific, the Middle East, Eastern Africa, and Europe.
