MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has formally withdrawn from loan negotiations with China for the Subic-Clark railway project, Department of Transportation (DOTr) Undersecretary for Railways Cesar Chavez said on Friday.
“The Department of Finance notified the China Eximbank that we have withdrawn our loan application to them,” Chavez told reporters on the sidelines of a forum in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.
According to Chavez, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno wrote to state-run Export-Import Bank of China on Wednesday (Nov. 8) to notify them that the government will no longer pursue a US$798.5 million loan.
Chavez said the decision was made after the bank failed to comply with an imposed government deadline on pertinent documents which already lapsed on October 31.
Chavez added that there is already an initial negotiation with the Asian Development Bank to fund the project.
Spanning some 71 kilometers, the train line is part of the DOTr’s plan to create a logistics hub in Central Luzon, linking the Port of Subic in Zambales to Clark metropolis where an international airport is also located.
Last month, the DOTr also announced that the government withdrew its negotiation for the Mindanao railway project.