STATE-RUN Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) extended a P50-million loan to Sipocot Water District (SIPWADI) to rehabilitate its existing water lines and provide services to more barangays in Camarines Sur, the bank said in a press release on Thursday.
The loan agreement was signed on July 30, the bank said in an e-mailed response to queries. DBP said the loan bears a 5.5% annual interest rate.
The bank said the loan will finance the development and rehabilitation of SIPWADI’s water lines and water sources.
The funds will also support the water district’s overall improvement of its existing operations to expand its services to two more barangays in Sipocot, Camarines Sur.
This marked SIPWADI’s first time to sign a loan agreement with a financial institution in its 43 years of public utility service.
The local water district is currently providing clean water supply to eight barangays with nearly 30,000 residents.
DBP is the country’s designated infrastructure bank. It also provides credit to other sectors like small businesses, environment, and social services and community development.
It was the country’s sixth-biggest lender in terms of assets with P1.102 trillion as of March, based on central bank data.
DBP’s net income plunged by 62% to P547.8 million in the first quarter as its operating expenses climbed. — B.M. Laforga