World Bank extends $309.5-M earthquake resilience project

THE World Bank is extending the closing date of its $309.5-million Philippines Seismic Risk Reduction and Resilience Project by six months after implementation delays left the project rated “moderately unsatisfactory.”

In a restructuring paper dated June 8, the World Bank said the project’s closing date would be extended to Dec. 31 from June 30.

The project seeks to improve the safety and seismic resilience of selected public buildings in Metro Manila and strengthen the government’s capacity to respond to emergencies.

The bank said the project is currently rated “moderately unsatisfactory” in terms of both progress toward its development objective and implementation.

It said the project failed to meet its first project development objective (PDO) indicator because no civil works have been completed, while the second indicator has only been partially achieved through equipment procurement.

“However, during the latest mission in April, a notable improvement was observed in the performance of the project,” the bank said.

“The recent delegation of design approval to the project director is seen as a very significant sign that the Department of Public Works and Highways is committed to accelerate project implementation,” it added.

The six-month extension is intended as an interim measure to allow the government to complete its internal review and approval process for a longer extension and revisions to the project’s results framework.

“ The second restructuring will be processed upon completion of all necessary internal procedures. The PDOs will be achievable under extended implementation timeframe, after the second restructuring,” it added. — Justine Irish D. Tabile