MANILA, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved on Friday a 408-million-U.S. dollar financing package to assist the Philippine government in rebuilding and rehabilitating the city of Marawi and regain residents' livelihoods.
The Manila-based bank said the Emergency Assistance for Reconstruction and Recovery of Marawi package includes a 300-million-U.S. dollar quick disbursing loan to finance selected programs, projects, and activities under the government's Bangon Marawi Comprehensive Rehabilitation and Recovery Program covering local governance and peace-building, housing and settlement, business and livelihood, and social services.
The second loan of 100-million-U.S. dollar will finance the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the damaged infrastructure by the Philippine Department of Public Works and Highways, including about 25 km of roads and 1,700 meters of bridges and viaducts, the ADB said.
"The infrastructure will be built back better, climate resilient, and will incorporate gender-responsive and inclusive physical design features to enable safe use by women, children, elderly, and people with disabilities," the ADB said in a statement.
In addition to the loans, ADB will also provide 8 million U.S. dollars in grants to restore and rehabilitate water supply systems in 19 villages in the city.
"In my interaction with residents of Marawi, they expressed their desire for a better future for their children. We hope that through this new ADB loan and grants package, we can help transform Marawi into a thriving economic center in southern Philippines, where people live in peace and prosperity," said Stephen Groff, the vice president of ADB who led a team to visit Marawi in last November.
According to ADB, a portion of the grants will also construct local health units with facilities that meet or exceed national standards, procure mobile medical clinics, scale up emergency employment programs and livelihood programs, and deliver primary education in displaced people communities.
The financing package followed the technical and advisory support, including the post-conflict damage and needs assessment, which were completed by the Task Force Bangon Marawi, the Office of Civil Defense, the National Economic and Development Authority, and other development partners in December 2017.
The support from ADB to Marawi's rebuilding is aligned with its new Country Partnership Strategy, under which up to 1 billion U.S. dollars in development assistance is set to be prepared from 2018 to 2021 to address poverty and income inequality in Mindanao.
Marawi is a city in the southern Philippines, ruined by months of fierce fighting between government and terrorists in 2017. The government is in the process of rebuilding Marawi.
