The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said Thursday it approved nearly $1.7 billion in financing to build a 37.5-kilometer climate-resilient expressway along the Philippines’ largest lake.
The project aims to improve connectivity between Manila and Laguna province, reduce travel time, and bolster the competitiveness of Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing economy.
“This investment further cements ADB’s commitment to helping transform our host country’s transport infrastructure by facilitating climate- and disaster-resilient and sustainable development,” said ADB Country Director for the Philippines Pavit Ramachandran.
The Laguna Lakeshore Road Network Project (LLRN) will see ADB fund the construction of a 29.56-km. section of the new expressway, including bridges and viaducts traversing waterways flowing into Laguna Lake.
The project aims to provide the most resilient road link within the southern Manila transport corridor and cut peak hour travel time between Taguig City and Calamba City by 25 percent.
The 7.89-km. northern section of the expressway will be funded by a $904.35 million loan from the Export-Import Bank of Korea.
ADB’s support to LLRN will be via a multi-tranche financing facility consisting of two loans totaling $1.7 billion. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is co-financing the project with an additional $188.2 million loan.
The project is expected to benefit 3.47 million people, improve access to markets and public services, and enhance the capacity of the Department of Public Works and Highways to implement and maintain the road network.
