The Export-Import Bank of Korea (www.koreaexim.go.kr, Chairman Kim Yong-hwan, “Korea Eximbank) announced on October 18 that it signed an EDCF loan agreement with the Department of Finance of the Philippines on the previous day, to provide the latter with a USD 80.48 million EDCF loan to fund the Integrated Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) Measures in Low-Lying Areas of Pampanga Bay Project (the Pampanga Project).
The agreement was signed between Philippine Secretary of Finance Cesar V. Purisima and Korea Eximbank Chairman Kim Yong-hwan at the Presidential Blue House in the presence of Korean President Park Geun-hye and Philippine President Benigno Aquino III immediately following a summit meeting between the two heads of state.
* The Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) was established by the Korean government in 1987 to promote economic exchanges and to assist developing countries in achieving industrialization and economic stability through the provision of long-term, low-interest credit. Korea Eximbank currently manages the fund as its trustee. As of the end of September 2013, EDCF has supported 298 projects in 50 countries with KRW 9.4 trillion (commitment basis).
The Pampanga Project is part of the Pinatubo Hazard Urgent Mitigation Project (PHUMP) pursued by the government of the Philippines as a top-priority national initiative to rebuild infrastructure in the flood-stricken Luzon island.
The province of Pampanga in northern Luzon has become a site of frequent and severe flooding as a result of volcanic ash that blanketed the area during the great eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991.
Floods affect 80 percent of the province for 3~4 month stretches during the rainy season lasting from June to November, causing the flooding of schools and houses, power stoppages, and outbreaks of water-borne diseases.
To deal with this annually recurring problem, the government of the Philippines made a request to the Korean government in 2012 for an EDCF loan to build flood control facilities and improve the school environment.
The USD 80.48 million loan agreement signed on October 17 is expected to bring protection to the livelihoods of 200 thousand Pampanga residents and dramatically improve the schooling environment for 35 thousand students.
The Pampanga Project will involve dredging the four rivers in the province along with the construction and reinforcement of flood control facilities including river banks and floodgates.
It will also involve rebuilding schools and installing well pumps to provide safe drinking water.
Chairman Kim remarked after the signing ceremony that the agreement would “further cement Korea’s economic cooperation with a long-time ally who came to our defense during the Korean War.”
