Nearly three-fourths of the loan for a flood control project in Metro Manila that the World Bank extended to the Philippines seven years ago remained unspent even as this financing is scheduled to end before yearend.
A Sept. 30 implementation status and results report seen by Manila Bulletin showed that of the $207.6-million World Bank loan for the Metro Manila flood management project, only $57.31 million, or 27.6 percent, has been disbursed.
This loan, approved by the Washington-based multilateral lender in 2017, will close on Nov. 30 of this year. In cases where loans are close to lapsing before full disbursement, the World Bank and the borrower-country may negotiate to restructure the loan or extend the closing date.
The World Bank, the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), and the Philippine government have been funding the rollout of the $500-million project currently being jointly implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).
In a separate project implementation monitoring report last June, the Beijing-based AIIB disclosed that merely 22.4 percent, or $46.59 million, of its similar $207.6-million counterpart financing for this project had been spent so far.
"The project is over 12 months delayed from carried-over delays from the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns and start-up issues," the AIIB report read.
As such, "project supervision has focused on addressing bottlenecks to recover the accumulated delays and providing guidance to the project implementing agencies in preparing a restructuring request," the AIIB said, referring to the DPWH and the MMDA.
Despite the delay, the World Bank upgraded this project's overall risk rating to "moderate" from "substantial" previously while keeping the ratings for overall implementation progress towards achieving its development objectives at "moderately satisfactory."
"The project has made continuous progress. Fifteen of the 34 pumping stations have been upgraded and four new pumping stations are starting construction," the World Bank's latest report read.
Also, "85 of the targeted 200 barangays upstream of the pumping stations have demonstrated improved solid waste management," the World Bank said, adding that "most informal settler families have been relocated to housing."
This project is aimed at protecting 1.7 million residents near 56 "potentially critical" drainage systems across 11,110 hectares of flood-prone areas in Metro Manila.
Upon project completion, supposedly this year, these areas should be free of water within 24 hours after a major rainfall.
With the project delayed, however, recent strong typhoons flooded many parts of Metro Manila.
Last month, Public Works Secretary Manuel M. Bonoan said the DPWH is eyeing more official development assistance (ODA) — loans, grants and technical assistance — from the World Bank, the Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for the Philippines' climate risk mitigation and adaptation projects, including flood control.
According to Bonoan, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had ordered the DPWH to build additional dams in the Sierra Madre mountain range to serve as rainwater storage and prevent flood water from spilling to Metro Manila and neighboring areas.
The DPWH is also focusing on the development of 18 major river basins to stop perennial flooding in the aftermath of destructive typhoons that pass through the country, Bonoan had said.