Announcement of Philippines to Undertake Coal Exploration Project with Seventeen Million Dollars World Bank Loan on June 17, 1982

D "•World Bank0 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A.• Telephone: (202) 477-l23'"* _ __i;L,...!~:)_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ . " BANK, "NEWS RELEASE N0.82/125 CONTACT: Sundaram Sankaran June 17., 1982 (202) 477-3962 PHILIPPINES TO UNDERTAKE COAL EXPLORATION PROJECT WITH $17 MILLION WORLD BANK LOAN The World Bank foday announced the approval of a. loan of $17 million for a coal exploration project in,the Philippines. The loan is the Bank's first lending"operation in support of 'the Philippine government's efforts to reduce its dependence on imported oil through the development of domestic energy resources. The $25 million project will provide geological data for two coal-bearing areas with development potential, in Samar and eastern Mindanao. The exploration will aim to locate coal deposits which could be mined by the open-pit method. This aspect of the project is expected to contribute to the expansion of domes.,tic coal supply within .the shortest time through private sector ·development of promising coal fields. \\ ..._. Detailed coal exploration of a known field in the Lalat area of southwestern ·, ~indanao will also be carried out under the project. The studies will provide the geological data base for future preparation of a preliminary mine design and of prefeasibility studies. Technical ass='istance for the Philippine National Oil Company-Coal Corporation, implementing organization of the project, will strengthen the company's capabilities in all aspects of coal exploration, mine development0, and mine operation. The World .Bank loan is for 20 years, including. five years of grace, . with interest at 11.6% a year; the loan also carries an annual commitment charge of 0.75% on und1sbursed balances, and a front-end fee of 1.5% on the amount of the loan. NOTE: Money figures are expressed in U.S. dollar equivalents.