Japan on Wednesday signed a new set of diplomatic notes with the Philippines for a fresh yen loan to help refurbish Manila’s Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3), as the two countries continue cooperation on upgrading one of the capital’s most heavily used commuter rail lines.
Japanese Ambassador Kazuya Endo and Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Maria Theresa Lazaro signed and exchanged notes for the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 Rehabilitation Project (III), with a loan ceiling of about 21.6 billion yen, Japan’s embassy in Manila said.
The project will provide financing to the Philippine government to refurbish MRT-3 after years of operational interruptions and other issues, the embassy said.
Japan said the rehabilitation is intended to improve the line’s safety and passenger comfort, encourage higher ridership and ease chronic traffic congestion in Metro Manila, where MRT-3 runs along the busy Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA) corridor.
Under the terms released by the embassy, the loan carries an interest rate of 0.8% per year and a 40-year repayment period, including a 10-year grace period. The financing is Japan-tied, meaning procurement is linked to Japanese goods and services.
The new facility builds on earlier Japanese support for the MRT-3 upgrade program. Japan previously signed an exchange of notes in 2018 for an ODA loan for the MRT-3 rehabilitation project, and in 2023 for a second phase covering continued maintenance and works related to connecting the line to the planned Common Station linking multiple rail lines.
Business News Asia
