ADB approves $500-million loan to support PHL'S blue economy

THE ASIAN Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $500-million (around P29.56-billion) policy-based loan to support the development of the Philippines' blue economy and improve the resilience of coastal communities.

- Aubrey Rose A. Inosante

The financing for the Marine Ecosystems for Blue Economy Development Program Subprogram 1 was approved on Thursday, the multilateral lender said in a statement.

This loan seeks to "strengthen the productivity and diversity of the country's ocean-based economy, and improve the health and adaptability of coastal areas and communities," the ADB said.

The program also aims to improve the plastic and solid waste management value chain to ensure long-term ecological and economic resilience in the Philippines.

"More than half of the Philippine population is dependent on the country's oceans and rich marine biodiversity for food and livelihoods, with the blue economy having great potential to be central to attaining inclusive, resilient, and low-carbon development," ADB Country Director for the Philippines Andrew Jeffries said.