BusinessWorld Online
July 16, 2014

THE WORLD BANK Group has proposed a $119-million (P5.17 billion) funding for infrastructure projects in Mindanao, in support of the peace process between the Philippine Government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
The World Bank Group, in a press release, said the funding will support farm-to-market roads, bridges, communal irrigation systems and potable water in the region, including areas in the Autonomous Region in Mindanao (ARMM).

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said in a press conference the funding is part of the Washington-based multilateral’s support of the peace process in Mindanao.

“When there’s no peace, there’s no prosperity,” Mr. Kim said.

“We think these are the kinds of investments that are critical in moving forward,” he added.

The $119-million grant forms part of the $508 million earmarked under the proposed Philippines Rural Development Program (PRDP), a six-year program for infrastructure projects and livelihood programs.

The PRDP will be presented to the World Bank Group’s Board of Executive Directors next month for approval.

The International Finance Corp. (IFC), the WB’s private sector arm, is also looking at proposing investments that will generate at least 6,000 jobs in Mindanao.

The WB has formed a new country partnership strategy (CPS) in the Philippines where the multilateral has committed to provide $3.2 billion in assistance from 2015 to 2018 and another $1 billion for investments in business and industry. — Mikhail Franz E. Flores