The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will co-finance a Metro Manila flood control project and the EDSA bus system, the Department of Finance said in a statement Monday.

“We are all very eager to finalize the infrastructure projects in your country … This time, we are very happy we can really talk about something to do in your country,” AIIB president Jun Liqun said in a recent meeting with Philippine officials led by Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III.

The P23.46-billion Metro Manila flood control project supported by the World Bank is being processed for project financing by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), which, according to National Treasurer Roberto Tan, has tapped the AIIB for co-financing.

The P37.76 billion EDSA Bus Rapid Transit system is partly funded by the Asian Development Bank.

The ADB support for this land transport project excludes the Public-Private Partnership portion of the project cost, which the NEDA hopes would be backed by the AIIB.

In the meeting, Jin also thanked Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III for helping facilitate the speedy concurrence by the Senate of the ratification of the AIIB treaty on the Duterte administration.

Dominguez has strongly backed the Philippines ’ membership to the AIIB, which, he said, would provide the government “another source of long-term funding at very reasonable interest rates” for the Duterte administration’s unprecedented infrastructure buildup.

“Achieving full membership in the AIIB is a significant milestone. Completing our domestic procedures for ratification puts us in solidarity with 56 other countries," Dominguez said.

President Rodrigo Duterte signed the instrument of ratification of the AIIB last Oct. 19, after which the Senate concurred in the ratification of the Articles of Agreement of the AIIB on Dec. 5.

“We’d like to thank you very much for speeding up the ratification so that we can start very soon. We believe there is so many that we can do in your country,” Jin told Dominguez during the meeting.

Jin said besides moving faster than the World Bank and ADB in terms of project approvals, the AIIB offers cheaper financing terms.

“Compared to ADB and World Bank, it will take less than half a year in AIIB to process loans,” Jin said. The AIIB, he said, also offers technical assistance to less developed countries.

The AIIB is a multilateral bank owned by 57 sovereign-member countries with a total capitalization of US$100 billion.

Its member countries include Australia; China; South Korea; United Kingdom; the ASEAN countries of the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam; and European states such as Austria, France, Germany, and Italy; Brazil, Russia, India, and South Africa.

Out of the 57 members , 37 are from Asia and 20 are non-regional members. DMS