Secretary Jaime Bautista of the Department of Transportation talks about the loan extension that the agency is seeking with the two financial institutions funding the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit project. | screengrab from Wenilyn Sabalo video
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Jaime Bautista said that the World Bank and the French government, through the Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD), two of the world’s largest financial institutions behind the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), were amenable to the loan extension that the DOTr were seeking for the construction of the mass transport system.
“Actually, we have talked about it. They are amenable to the extension,” Bautista told reporters on Monday, Feb. 27, 2023.
“Wala naman kaming nakikitang problema doon (We don’t see a problem there). We’re looking at extending the loans from one year to 33 months,” he said.
The DOTr, with President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr., led the ceremonial groundbreaking for phase one of the multi-billion Cebu BRT project, the first BRT project in the country.
The implementation of the CBRT incurred delays for more than half a decade, for various reasons, including political issues.
The World Bank, in 2014, approved a $116-million commitment to fund the Cebu BRT estimated to cost at least $228.5 million.
This was after the AFD also pledged to finance a portion of the project in 2012, through a $57.4-million loan.
However, these loans are set to expire this March 31 and June 30, 2023, for the AFD and World Bank, respectively.
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