JAPAN has agreed to finance the initial loan provisions aimed at mitigating flooding in areas in Cavite province that host manufacturing facilities.
On Monday, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono and Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano signed the exchange of notes on the provision of a 15.928 billion yen (about P7.25 billion) loan for the Cavite Industrial Area Flood Risk Management Project, aiming to reduce flood damage in Cavite province, which is mainly an industrial area.
The document was signed in the presence of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Rodrigo Duterte, who is in Tokyo for a two-day official visit.
The loan terms, given at a rate of interest of 0.3 percent per annum, is payable within 30 years after the grace period of 10 years, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.
The Department of Public Works and Highways is planning to begin construction of the project by October next year and is expected to be finish it by April 2024.
The project seeks to ease flooding caused by the overflow and convergence of Ylang Ylang and Rio Grande rivers in the San Juan River as well as poor drainage at Maalimango Creek in Cavite province.
Up to 7,964 households are expected to benefit from the project.
The project will benefit the cities of General Trias and Imus as well as the municipalities of Kawit, Noveleta and Rosario, where economic zones that produced $5.5 billion worth of exports last year are located.