Deteriorated

There is little that could be done about the deterioration of our bilateral relationship with China – unless the aspiring Asian superpower abandons its outlandish territorial claims over the entire South China Sea.

Last week, the Philippines withdrew its request for Chinese financing for a major rail project saddled by charges of corruption. It is unlikely the country will seek any more financing from Beijing.

Apart from rising geopolitical tensions, the cancellation of our request for financing is burdened by the high interest China charges. The loans, too, come with strings attached. China requires us to award the projects to Chinese contractors.

We have better options. The massive infra projects could be financed by contracting official development assistance from other countries. Japan and South Korea are ready to offer support in this regard.

Or else, the projects can be undertaken entirely by Filipino conglomerates. Both San Miguel and Metro Pacific have demonstrated remarkable capacity for building large infrastructure projects. Between them, they operate all our tollways.

The newfound alliance between Metro Pacific and San Miguel produces astounding financial and engineering synergy. The two conglomerates are partnered to build a new expressway that cuts through Batangas. The project is expected to be completed in four years.

The possibility that the payments system for all our expressways can finally be unified. That can happen even ahead of the integration of the payments systems for our fragmented light rail systems.

SMC’s Ramon Ang has expressed interest in building tollways all the way to the Bicol region. He has shown interest in investing in our decrepit rail system.

We wasted two decades trying to build the North Rail system. So much money was lost to corruption during those years and all we have are the abandoned posts of what should be a profitable rail line. Without a rail link to Manila, all the grand plans for the Clark Zone cannot be realized.

The New Manila International Airport that is being built in Bulacan will have its own expressway and light rail link. That massive project includes an industrial estate ready to absorb high tech