The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has committed public sector loans, grants and technical assistance to the Philippines with a total amount of $26.4 billion since 1966, a document released by the multilateral bank agency showed.
According to the ADB’s latest fact sheet on the Philippines posted on its website, cumulative loan and grant disbursements to the country amount to $20.12 billion. These were financed by regular and concessional ordinary capital resources and other special funds.
The document showed that bulk of the cumulative lending, grant and technical assistance commitments from 1966 to end-2020 to the Philippines goes to public sector management, with a share of 28.76 percent.
This is followed by the finance and transport sectors, with shares of 14.3 percent and 13.93 percent, respectively.
Last year, ADB’s overall annual lending to the Philippines reached a record high of $4.2 billion.
The multilateral agency said this included policy-based loans to support infrastructure financing generated by capital markets, expand financial inclusion and raise the agriculture sector’s productivity and competitiveness.
Project investments to advance local governance reform, construct elevated pedestrian walkways in the capital’s main thoroughfare and secure Metro Manila’s water supply were also part of the 2020 lending program, it added.
ADB delivered a total of over $1.8 billion in loans for the Philippines’ coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) response last year, while providing more than $8 million in grants and technical assistance in the early months of the pandemic.
Moving forward, ADB said it will focus investments on infrastructure, health and employment recovery to help the Philippine government address the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In December last year, the multilateral agency said its sovereign lending to the Philippines is expected to hit $9.4 billion from 2021 to 2023.
“ADB will help the government reinvigorate the private sector and the labor market, accelerate economic recovery and expand access to public health services. More than 52 percent of projected financing will be invested in transportation projects, while about 12 percent will help expand the public health system,” the Manila-based agency said.
“The business plan (for 2021 to 2023) also includes support for youth school-to-work transition and skills development, environmentally sustainable projects that increase local economic activity, expanded social protection, increased agriculture competitiveness, better public sector management and more developed capital markets,” it added.
