PHL, Indian enterprises engage for infra endeavors
MORE than 200 representatives of Indian and Filipino firms recently converged online, eager to participate in the rapidly expanding local infrastructure sector.
The Embassy of India in Manila, together with the Confederation of Indian Industry and Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, organized a business conference on India-philippines Infrastructure Cooperation on February 18.
The event was an outcome of discussions between Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez and Ambassador Shambhu S. Kumaran. The latter addressed the conference, together with secretaries of transportation Arthur P. Tugade and trade Ramon M. Lopez.
The envoy pointed to the well-established capabilities of Indian firms in a range of infrastructure sectors and their successful implementation of projects worldwide. He sought a pathway to facilitate their engagement in the Philippines.
The conference was conducted in an innovative match-making format with the Department of Transportation, as it presented a slate of ongoing and prospective projects in aviation and airports, railways, maritime and ship-building, as well as road transport, for potential involvement of Indian companies. This was followed by presentations of senior representatives from six leading Indian infrastructure companies: Larsen & Toubro, GMR Group, IRCON, Shapoorji Pallonji, Adani Ports & SEZ, as well as RITES Ltd. about their respective potential, capabilities and interests.
According to the embassy, Indian companies are increasingly becoming active in the Philippines. For one, major infrastructure player GMR Group has already established a strong presence with its recent completion of its airport-construction projects in New Clark City and Mactan,
Cebu. Based on deliberations at the conference, several Indian firms are considering entering the Philippine infrastructure market, valued at $343 billion until 2025.
The event concluded with the exchange of contact details between participating Indian companies and Philippine government agencies.
The embassy is confident the outcome-driven business event will likely to promote greater Indian business participation in the Build, Build, Build program of the country, as well as lead to active tie-ups between companies from both countries in exploring Indian infrastructure projects.