ADB invests in PH education, telecom sectors

MANILA, PHILIPPINES — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved two loans to improve the Philippine education and telecommunication sectors. 

First, the development bank approved a $100 million loan to help upgrade and modernize the country’s technical and vocational education and training (TVET) ecosystem. 

Through the Supporting Innovation in the Philippine Technical and Vocational Education and Training System Project, the development bank will help improve training facilities and equipment in 17 selected technology institutions across the country to transform them into industry-responsive innovation centers. 

It will also assist in designing new training courses, reskilling and upskilling of trainers, and strengthening the institutional capacity of the government’s Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

According to ADB Senior Public Management Economist Sameer Khatiwada, this new project will address the need to “raise the skills and employability of Filipino youth and returning migrant workers so they can compete for highly skilled jobs in the post-COVID-19 economy.”

At the same time, ADB signed a $40 million loan with Tiger Infrastructure Philippines to build 380 telecommunications towers in Mindanao and Visayas. This infrastructure will enable mobile network operators to provide consumers with a full range of mobile and data services. 

ADB’s Private Sector Operations Department Director General Suzanne Gaboury added that this project “will improve access to the digital economy in the underserved regions of Visayas and Mindanao and have a tangible impact on the quality of life for local communities.”