The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has provided a US$30-million loan to help upgrade country’s main transport corridor, which would help lure investments and boost Philippine economy, particularly in the tourism sector .

The Philippine embassy in Vienna said the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) approved the grant last week for the “Road Sector Institutional Development and Investment Program in the Philippines,” which would preserve and maintain 10 national roads in the west coast of central Luzon, southwestern Visayas, and northern coast of Mindanao.

“The program supports the Philippine government’s efforts to rehabilitate and upgrade the country’s main transport corridor, which would then provide access to markets especially in isolated regions to alleviate poverty, enhance peace and order through transport and trade, strengthen national unity and promote tourism,” the statement from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.

Co-financing the road development and investment program with the OFID is the Asian Development Bank which will also be the lead financing agency for the fund.

OFID is an intergovernmental development finance institution that seeks to promote cooperation between the member states of the OPEC and other developing countries.