US catching up on PH infra program

The US government is trying to play catchup in the Philippines $170-billion infrastructure build-up, drumming up interest from its liquid private sector, which is further empowered by the newly-approved BUILD Act that aims to support various infrastructure development in developing countries, particularly ASEAN.

This was emphasized in a recent forum entitled Building the Indo-Pacific: ASEAN Stakeholder Forum held at the Stimson Center in Washington, D.C. participated in by Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel G. Romualdez.

The Duterte administration’s ambitious Build Build Build Program which boasts of 75 flagship infrastructure projects over the medium term has already attracted investments from China, Japan, South Korea, but not the US, a close ally of the Philippines.

Ambassador John Maisto, President of the US-Philippines Society, said the forum directly responded to expressions of concern by Philippine government economic officials who have questioned why American firms have not been more engaged in the highpriority, Build, Build, Build infrastructure initiative.

“The forum drew a large audience to gain a better understanding of recent steps by the administration and Congress in Washington,” said Maisto.

In a Keynote Address, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Walter Douglas emphasized that key to the economic component of the US Indo-Pacific strategy is the importance of private sector-led development, especially in the areas of the digital economy, infrastructure and energy.

On infrastructure, in particular, he said that the Asian Development Bank has identified a $1.7T infrastructure investment deficit in the region, and the US hopes to work towards making countries in the Indo-Pacific more attractive to approximately $5070T of liquidity in the investment finance markets.

“And our goal is to use the private sector, because that’s really where the United States’ strength is- in creating conditions for the private sector to come in and let them do the job of development. It is our belief that state-led development does not work. There are serious flaws with it,“DAS Douglas told the audience.

Ambassador Romualdez provided a clear outline of the Philippine infrastructure needs and welcomed the initiatives of the US Government.

The ambassador briefed the audience of the Philippines’ goal is to invest over US$170 billion in 6 years into the country’s infrastructure development, and spend 7.4 percent of GDP by 2022, on infrastructure alone.

“For over 50 years, the Philippines’ infrastructure investment averaged only at 2.6 percent of GDP while our neighboring economies invested double that ratio. Underinvestment in infrastructure produced a large gap that resulted in congestion and inefficiency. We are seeking to correct that gap by investing in 75 key strategic infrastructure projects over the medium term. And I am proud to inform you that Build Build Build is gathering momentum,” he added.

Romualdez also cited the passage of the US BUILD Act and of the various Indo-Pacific initiatives such as AsiaEDGE as the beginning of many more engagements to act on shared goal and to ensure that people get to benefit from all the potential infrastructure projects at the soonest possible time.

Already, the US yesterday hosted an Asia-Pacific Regional Media Hub on-the-record telephonic press briefing on the new BUILD Act to discuss its impact and how it strengthens the US government’s capacity to mobilize private sector investment to accelerate development and move societies forward.

Society Director Paul Shmotolokha of Alpha Technologies also presented the private sector perspective at the forum.

“We believe that the Philippine market offers real transparent opportunities for Alpha than any other market in Asia. The infrastructure investments are dynamic and growth rates show they are hitting the potential that we always hoped would materialize. We hope that the US Build Act will put US companies into the middle of these great infrastructure projects,” said Shmotolokha after the forum.

The forum was co-sponsored by the Stimson Center and the USPhilippines Society with the view of conducting a public discussion of strategic and pragmatic impact areas for new US trade and infrastructure initiatives.