MANILA: The World Bank said Tuesday that it and its private sector arm have committed concessional loans of up to $4.2bn to the Philippines to help the country progress.
The World Bank will provide $3.2bn in development financing to the Philippine government, while the International Finance Corp will offer another $1bn for investment in business and industry under a 2015-18 aid programme, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said.
Kim had announced a day earlier that the World Bank Group was planning a separate $528m rural development project this year to boost the income of farmers and fishermen, including $62m for areas hit by Typhoon Haiyan last year.
Kim said the rural development project fund includes $119m for roads, bridges, and irrigation and potable water systems in the turbulent southern Philippines, including areas where decades of fighting between Muslim rebels and the government have displaced hundreds of thousands of people and hindered growth in the resource-rich region.
The Philippine Star
