British Chamber promotes investment opportunities in Philippine infra industry

The British Chamber of Commerce Philippines launched its event titled, Trade & Connect: Concrete Investments: A Look into the Philippine Infrastructure Industry on Feb. 28, 2024 in Dusit Thani Manila. The event provided an overview of the infrastructure sector and investment opportunities in the Philippines.

Keynote speakers and panelists include Deputy Executive Director Jeffrey Manalo of the Public-Private Partnership Center, President and CEO Cosette Canilao of Aboitiz InfraCapital Inc., and BCCP Member IPE Tripleline Consulting Ltd Consultant and Urban Development and Infrastructure Specialist Royston A.C Brockman. 

Deputy Executive Director Manalo emphasized on the upskilling of relevant government agencies in terms of approval and regulatory practices to fasttrack the implementation of infrastructure projects. Partnerships with the government agencies,private sector, state universities and colleges (SUCs), local universities and colleges (LUCs), local government units (LGUs) were highlighted to further boost policy and capacity building initiatives of the PPP Center. 

PPP Deputy Executive Director Manalo presented the on-going projects under PPP and introduced more policies in addition to the Implementing Rules and Regulation (IRR) focusing on upskilling government agencies, capacity building, partnerships with colleges and universities to expand the opportunities and targets new sectors. 

Manalo further stated: “The pursuit of a successful PPP program is continuity that is being built on past successes and past lessons learned in the past 30 years. On the part of the PPP Center, we  are committed to working with all the government agencies, private sector, and the British Chamber to achieve this much improved PPP program moving forward.”

Aboitiz InfraCapital Inc. President and CEO Canilao also noted the partnership opportunities for British companies in terms of project implementation, she stated: “And with the execution of these projects, we have so many British companies helping us with the design and project management and the execution of the bulb water project…With the PPP code and the IRR that is grounded on pragmatism, on realities, on mutual trust and openness within the private sector will be able to overcome challenges and gaps between theory and practice.”

Lastly, IPE Tripleline Consulting Ltd Consultant Brockman highlighted the need for incorporating climate resilience in the implementation of infrastructure projects through green roofs, land development, and community inclusion. He noted that substantial economic returns may be achieved through low carbon infrastructure–benchmarking on the similar practices by the UK in sustainability, better water management, and consideration of the overall well being of Filipinos.