Spanish companies keen on PH infra projects

Spanish companies turned out in record numbers on Tuesday, lured by the Philippines’ massive infrastructure needs.

More than 30 Spanish firms, many of which are global leaders in transportation, water and energy infrastructure, attended the two-day Philippines-Spain Multilateral Partnership meetings that started yesterday.

“The Philippines is an impressively promising country,” Franciso Javier Garzón, CEO of ICEX-Spain Trade and Investment, said.

The state-run organization mainly supports the international investment activities of Spanish investors, while also looking to attract investments to Spain.

A key theme on Tuesday was bringing together Spanish and Filipino companies. Garzón noted that Spain-based firms were “eager to join forces with local counterparts.”

Among these was train maker CAF, which has a partnership with Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp., the company that was recently awarded the P19.6-billion contract to supply new train cars for the Light Rail Transit Line 1 in Metro Manila.

“Upgrading the country’s infrastructure will be key to reducing poverty,” Garzón said.

This was also recognized by the Duterte administration, which is embarking on an ambitious “build build build” initiative, which includes big-ticket projects such as new railways, airports and roads.

John Batan, DOTr assistant secretary for railways, said a major slice of the budget involved train projects valued at more than P1 trillion.

These included the P360-billion Metro Manila subway project, which will initially link Quezon City and the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, and a P316-billion Manila line to the Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga.

Foreign and local stakeholders, during the event yesterday, said the private sector was ready to support the Philippine government’s infrastructure drive.

Aekapol Chongvilaivan, economist of the Asian Development Bank’s Philippine country office, said the Duterte administration’s infrastructure push involved spending between P8 trillion and P9 trillion.

“Government would need to leverage on all possible sources. ODA [official development assistance], budget and also the private sector,” he said. —MIGUEL R. CAMUS