State-owned Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) bagged two awards during the recent Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific (ADFIAP) Development Awards 2018 held in New Delhi, India, a top official said.
DBP president and chief executive officer Cecilia C. Borromeo said the DBP Infrastructure Contractor Support (DBP ICONS) program and the Tacloban City Energy Efficient Street Lighting project were adjudged the most outstanding projects for infrastructure development and environmental development, respectively.
“We would like to thank the ADFIAP for recognizing our efforts and giving us these awards for our ICONS program and the Tacloban City Energy Efficient Lighting Project,” she said during the presentation of the awards to DBP held last April 16, 2018 at the bank’s headquarters in Makati City.
DBP ICONS Program
Launched in 2017, the DBP ICONS program supports the ‘Build, Build, Build’ program of the Duterte administration through direct financing of construction contractors as a complementary mode to fund various types of infrastructure projects.
Under the ICONS program, DBP can finance up to 70% of the awarded contracts or the contractor’s Allowable Ranges of Contract Cost or the computed net worth, whichever is lowest upon presentation of Purchase Orders. The program also features a simplified credit investigation process to facilitate faster loan approvals.
Borromeo said that as of January this year, DBP has approved a total of ₱7-billion in loans for 150 projects with total releases amounting to ₱8.3-billion, adding that “more projects are up for approval as the government ramps up spending for its infrastructure program.”
Tacloban City Energy Efficient Street Lighting project
Borromeo said the Tacloban City Energy Efficient Street Lighting project involved the installation of 3,603 light emitting diode (LED) lighting fixtures covering 115.84 kilometers of major, secondary, minor, and residential roads.
The project was financed by DBP under its Green Financing Program thru a two-step loan scheme with the Japan International Cooperation Agency-Environmental Development Project (JICA-EDP) Credit Facility. It is being implemented in partnership with Luminance Inc., an integrated energy and lighting solutions company.
“Apart from improving the lighting in the city, the project also helped the local government unit save on electricity costs by about ₱21.6-million a year and reduce greenhouse gas emission by about 63%,” Borromeo said. It also helped restore basic services and improve the quality of life of the residents after Typhoon Yolanda damaged the city in 2013.
Founded in 1976, ADFIAP is the focal point of all development banks and other financial institutions engaged in the financing of development in the Asia-Pacific region. Its mission is to advance sustainable development through its members.
The ADFIAP Development Awards 2018 recognizes member-banks which have undertaken and/or assisted projects that have created a development impact in their respective countries.