THE Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will fund the construction of the third phase of an arterial road in Bulacan to help ease congestion in the area and boost investments in the long term.

In a statement, JICA said it signed a 9.399-billion yen (or P4.25-billion) loan agreement with the Finance department to build the bypass located immediately north of Manila.

The project will expand the existing two-lane road connecting North Luzon Expressway Balagtas exit and the Philippine-Japanese Friendship Highway in San Rafael, Bulacan into a four-lane road.

The bypass road project is seen to help deliver time savings of 45 to 50 minutes for commuters coming from the northern part of Metro Manila traveling to the south.

The first two phases of the project was also funded by JICA. The first phase has been completed and is already open to traffic, while the second phase is expected to be completed by the second quarter of the year.

“We continue to support the Philippines’ Build, Build, Build Program through this project,” JICA Chief Representative Susumu Ito was quoted as saying in the statement released yesterday. “[W]e’re confident that once constructed, this bypass road will help create new growth centers outside Metro Manila and enhance mobility of many Filipinos.”

Meanwhile, the government welcomed the Japanese assistance.

“We are grateful for the generosity of the Japanese people through JICA and the Japanese government as well as the strong support you have extended to us at this key juncture in our own economic emergence,” Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez said in a separate statement.

“With the Philippine government’s robust infrastructure development program, we are pleased to have a dynamic and responsive cooperation with Japan, whose development experience and expertise match our own needs and priorities,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia said.

Aside from the bypass road project, JICA is also helping the government in constructing the 32-kilometer North-South Commuter Railway, as well as the 25-kilometer Mega Manila Subway connecting Quezon City and Taguig City. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal 

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