China Eximbank pledges preferential buyer’s credit for Navotas Port Complex Rehabilitation Project

The Navotas Fish Port Complex (NFPC), the premier fishing port and fish market complex of the PFDA, was constructed in August 1976 through a loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). In April 2003, the Department of Agriculture (DA) of the Philippines endorsed to NEDA the proposal of the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority (PFDA) for the preparation of a feasibility study to rehabilitate the NFPC under the grant assistance of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). However, it was not considered by KOICA. The proposed feasibility study was pursued in January 2007 through a grant from the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The feasibility study was then submitted to NEDA for approval by the Investment Coordination Committee (ICC) under a preferential buyer’s credit (PBC) from China Eximbank. The Government of the Philippines was reportedly seeking a $92.72 million PBC (to cover 95% of the estimated commercial contract cost, with the Philippines supplying the remaining 5%), with a 20-year maturity period, 5-year grace period, and a 3% interest rate. Also, on January 16, 2007, the PRC Government and the Government of the Philippines signed a Memorandum of Agreement on the Construction of Ship Yard, Establishment of a Cold Storage Facility, and Upgrading/Rehabilitation of Certain Facilities at the Navotas Fish Port Complex (NFPC). The project would have involved the upgrading of the landing quay, market halls, piers, parking areas, drainage system, and breakwater; the construction of a wharf landing; the dredging of the harbor basin; the provision of an area for ship repair and other agri-fishery enterprises; and the construction of new facilities such as a cold storage system, conveyors, fish sorting areas, and a waste-water treatment plant. The time table for completion of the project was 9 months for design/environmental study and 33 months for construction. The China Projects Oversight Panel (CPOP) issued a clearance for the project on July 3, 2009. However, since projects proposed for Chinese Government funding were put on hold at the time, the ICC approval of the Navotas Port Complex Rehabilitation Project had expired. As of August 2012, the Philippine Government was "no longer going for a loan from China to fund the P2.7-billion rehabilitation of the Navotas Fish Port Complex". It appears as if as of 2018 the Philippines has decided to fund the project internally.

Number of official sources

7

Number of total sources

11