The construction of three big-ticket railway projects in the Philippines, which was recently bared to have been withdrawn, under loan agreement with China will push through.
According to China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin, "the construction of more projects, including three railways, is well underway."
In an interview with Chinese local media on Monday, he also gave assurance that China will "coordinate seamlessly with the new Philippine government on this" as well as "move the projects forward explore new projects while implementing existing ones."
"China welcomes President Marcos' instruction to the responsible department on discussing with China on the projects," he added.
Wang made the pronouncement after Department of Transportation (DOTr) Usec. for Railways Cesar Chavez said that the loan agreements for three railway projects were considered "withdrawn" after China did not act on the funding requests by the previous administration.
It was withdrawn when Finance Sec. Carlos Dominguez III "canceled the application instead of keeping it in suspended animation," Chavez added.
The railway projects will link the provinces of Laguna and Albay, the town of Subic in Zambales and Clark in Pampanga, and the cities of Tagum and Digos in Mindanao.
After withdrawal reports, the Philippine government was urged to renegotiate.
Apart from coordinating with the Philippines, Wang said China will also "launch more projects that will set new benchmarks for our cooperation" in a bid to "help upgrade Philippine infrastructure in both traditional and emerging sectors."
"Infrastructure cooperation is a highlight in the practical cooperation between China and the Philippines in the past six years," Wang said, adding that the two countries even "jointly completed key projects" within these years, including bridges and dams.