Sinking promises in Manila
Yesterday, Global Witness published a new report, "Sunk Costs" - in which I had a modest role to play - that comes up with new facts about the disastrous New Manila International Airport project in the Philippines, for which the Dutch dredging multinational Boskalis received Dutch export credit insurance (ekv) of €1.5 billion.
Many are now familiar with this project because of the human rights violations and natural destruction that have accompanied it. However, the new report shows that this was probably all in vain. Indeed, the project was prematurely abandoned due to a shortage of sand for the associated land reclamation. The report adds that the accompanying environmental impact assessment far underestimated sea level rise, which means the airport will be underwater within a few decades, if it is completed at all.
Dutch blunders
This is the latest chapter in a string of bluff and blunder on the part of the Dutch government, which played a crucial role in creating the necessary financial conditions for this project with its export credit insurance. Among other things, Dutch involvement there allegedly ensured strict compliance with international human rights standards and the 'creation' of hundreds of hectares of new wetlands. The director of Atradius Dutch State Business, which issues ekv's on behalf of Dutch ministries, even stated that thanks to the Dutch commitment, ‘a real difference was made for communities and nature’.
Working with a coalition of environmental and human rights organisations and local communities, I saw up close that these promises were hot air and served mainly as greenwashing to justify Dutch involvement. Indeed, the local reality was one of forced evictions of thousands of people, destruction of crucial ecosystems and the end of the local fishing industry.
Image of Dutch water sector suffers another blow
Today, more and more people are shrugging their shoulders at such malpractices in faraway countries and believe that such state aid is necessary for Dutch competitiveness, but is this really the case? As journalist Bram Vermeulen noted in the NRC in 2023, Boskalis has become a swearword in the Philippines because of this project. In addition, the image of the Dutch water sector, which we are so keen to promote internationally, has suffered yet another major blow from a megalomaniac failure; who actually benefits from this?
Finally, those who follow our work at Both ENDS know that this project is no exception, but just one of many destructive mega-projects that the Dutch state -read taxpayer- makes possible with its export credit insurances. For that, see the recent report “Dredging Destruction” that we wrote last year together with our Philippine partner Kalikasan and organisations from Indonesia, Brazil, the Maldives and Mozambique.
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