Global infra, engineering consulting firm sets up hub in PH

US-based global infrastructure and engineering consulting firm Aecom has handpicked the Philippines to host its very first global shared services hub while growing its pipeline of big-ticket projects in the country.

Aecom inaugurated last week a 2,178-square meter new office at the Bonifacio Stopover Corporate Center in BGC to accommodate greater manpower, reflecting its optimism on business prospects in the Philippines.

“The expansion of Aecom’s business and its investment in its global shared services here in the Philippines are solid commitments to be a leading innovator in the country’s infrastructure and urban development,” said Sean Chiao, Aecom Asia-Pacific chief executive officer said.

“Aecom, as one of the world’s leading infrastructure companies, shall use its most advanced technologies and tap its 87,000 experts to help government and private sector to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the Philippines’ most impactful infrastructure. It shall transform its major cities to be sustainable, green, smart, disaster-resilient and inclusive,” Aecom country head Arnel Casanova told the Inquirer.

Casanova said it was the first time that Aecom had set up an offshore business process outsourcing (BPO) hub to handle global finance and administration, audit and human resource management.

“It is because of the talent and the growth of the Philippine business,” Casanova said.

“We are in continuous hiring. We have grown from 150 (manpower) last year when I joined to almost 400 now, but we foresee that we may be 1,000 by next year,” he said.

Aside from the global process outsourcing hub, Aecom has likewise grown its business operations in the Philippines.

Aecom recently bagged the contract to design the New Senate Building in Fort Bonifacio.

Other major projects in the pipeline where Aecom is participating are: Manila Bay Resorts, Republic-CRH cement plants and the Metro Manila subway.

Since Casanova—former president of the state-controlled Bases Conversion Development Authority—joined the firm a year ago, the size of the business has doubled.

Aecom is keen on doing more business in the Philippines and participating in the government’s bid to usher in a golden age of infrastructure.