US construction firms urged to do business in PH

Members of a high-level Philippine trade and investment mission to the United States have urged American construction companies to locate their businesses in the country to tap the growing opportunities in the infrastructure industry here and in other member states of the Asean.

Philippine cabinet secretaries made the pitch during a conference held in Washington DC entitled “Dynamic Philippine Economy: Growth, Reform and Looking Ahead.”

Washington was the first stop of the trade and investment mission that is traveling across the US from June 24 to 29, the Philippine Embassy in Washington said in a statement.

In his speech during the said conference, Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. stressed how crucial infrastructure investments would be for the sustained growth of the local economy.

“We aim to attain a level of infrastructure spending of 5 percent of gross domestic product by 2016. We are also pursuing infrastructure development in the Philippines through public-private partnerships (PPP) program. In line with this, the Philippines and the US recently signed a memorandum of cooperation (MoC) on infrastructure collaboration,” Cuisia said.

Public Works Secretary Rogelio L. Singson wooed the US-based construction firms to get registered in the Philippines and take advantage of highly skilled Filipino engineers to help them become more competitive in the Asean.

Singson also discussed the creation of a new license category called Quadruple A or “AAAA” which would effectively enable foreign companies to secure construction permits as regular contractors, and participate in local projects with full equity.

Trade Secretary Gregory L. Domingo and the other cabinet secretaries, meanwhile trumpeted the good governance reforms that had enabled the Philippines to become one of the strongest and highest performing economies in the region, and which created opportunities for investment for American companies.

The mission was deemed as an “important followup to the Philippines-United States Memorandum of Cooperation on an Infrastructure Collaboration Platform, which was signed during the 8th Global Infrastructure Leadership Forum (GILF) held in New York in February,” the embassy said.

The said MoC provides a framework for coordination and cooperation between the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) and US Department of Commerce, with the goal of increasing US industry participation in Philippine infrastructure projects. It is aimed at creating a platform for potential US investors to get notification and information about forthcoming infrastructure projects, which would be useful to enhancing awareness and attracting the attention of American investors in the Philippines, the embassy earlier explained.