The National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Board, which is chaired by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., has approved the PHP30.56-billion project to rebuild and reconstruct calamity-hit school facilities outside Metro Manila.

The Department of Education’s (DepEd) Infrastructure for Safer and Resilient Schools (ISRS) project will be largely funded by an official development assistance (ODA) loan from the World Bank-International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, according to a Presidential Communications Office (PCO) news release Wednesday.

“Of the PHP30.56 billion total project cost, PHP27.50 billion will come from loan proceeds while the PHP3.06 billion will be counterpart fund from the national government,” the PCO said.

ODA loans support developing countries by providing low-interest, long-term and concessional funds to finance development projects.

The ISRS project will be implemented by the DepEd and the Department of Public Works and Highways from 2025 to 2029.

It involves the repair, rehabilitation, retrofitting, and reconstruction of school facilities outside the National Capital Region, which were damaged by various disasters between 2019 and 2023, the PCO said.

The project is expected to benefit 1,282 schools, 4,756 school buildings, 13,101 classrooms, and 741,038 learners.

Among the project components are “Relatively Simple Works for School Infrastructure Recovery and Operations and Maintenance” with a PHP9.65-billion allocation and “Relatively Complex Works for School Infrastructure Recovery” with a PHP19.81-billion budget.

Another component will be “Project Management, Monitoring, and Evaluation” with PHP1.1 billion budget allocation. (PNA)