Japan offers P600-M for Antique's port development

The Japanese government is pouring in some P600-million worth of port development projects in the province of Antique .

Japan 's Financial Bureau Director Akira Ariyoshi recently relayed this good news to Antique Governor Salvacion Zaldivar Perez in a letter dated last week. He stressed that the development assistance funding is intended to help economic growth in Antique.

This program will be supervised by the Provincial Economic Enterprise Committee (PEEC).  The bulk of the program fund is mainly for the construction of estuary ports, fishing wharf, improvement of existing seaports and jetty ports for tourism and investment promotion.
PEEC will coordinate with the province's 15 coastal towns in order to avail of long-term development loans through the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC). This is subject to the prudential norms of development finance according to Ariyoshi.

Perez viewed the offer of foreign assistance as a validation of her efforts towards progress for Antique. “This will fast-rack our local initiatives and will create more business and employment opportunities for our people,” she said.
Perez welcomed Japan 's offer, noting that Antique is gaining grounds in the international community as an investment base. “Our province is within a rich marine source which has potentials for international trade and industry,” she added.