CEBU CITY, Philippines?The Asian Development Bank (ADB) may fund some projects in Cebu, such as infrastructure for renewable energy sources, mass transit and vocational education, to maximize the area?s growth potential.

Neerai Jain, country director for ADB-Philippines, said Cebu was among the attractive sites for investments in the country.

?Cebu is the fastest growing destination in the country. Everything is going here, but is it ready for that?? Jain said.

Jain was in Cebu for an ADB consultation with the public and government sector. It hopes to get inputs for the bank?s 2011 medium-term Philippine Development Plan. Under the plan, up to $4 billion may be on tap for the next five years.

He also revealed that the ADB would want to make its presence felt in Cebu.

The consultation with Cebu?s provincial government, headed by Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, along with the National Economic Development Authority (Neda) 7, led the ADB to identify ?educational infrastructure? as an area of concern in the province, considering the huge number of business process outsourcing companies now locating in the province.

?We?re thinking of the very big emerging BPO (business process outsourcing) sector as the way to go, especially in the Visayas,? Jain said in an interview.

He cited the need to address the manpower requirements of the BPO sector.

?The BPO industry is moving higher to software research and development and to knowledge product outsourcing, and we have to supply the needed talents for this sector,? Jain said.

Ensuring the needed supply would not only benefit and attract investors, but also the local economy where the workforce could earn bigger salaries, he said.

?An agent in a call center, for instance, can earn P20,000, but a software developer can earn as much as P50,000. Visayas should have the right educational infrastructure to help potential workforce gain software development degree,? Jain explained.

Jain also cited the importance of addressing the effects of climate change.

?Climate change is one of the reasons growth in the Philippines is smaller compared to other Asian countries like Indonesia, Thailand, and China,? he said citing an ADB-commissioned Philippine economy assessment completed in the first quarter of 2010.

ADB earlier financed a coal-fired power plant in Naga, Cebu. It is now being urged to invest in more renewable energy facilities to ease the threat of a looming power crisis in the province.

?Renewable energy is repeatedly raised because of issues on climate change. We?re looking at putting up solar energy facility somewhere in the Visayas, and we?re considering a wind energy facility as well,? Jain said.

ADB is serious in ?learning and listening? more about the province, and will visit here more often, he said. A satellite office may also be put up in Cebu.

?Our primary concern is development and we aim to have a more open communication with all sectors in the society to achieve that,? he said.