INFRASTRUCTURE development in the Asia-Pacific region will be discussed in Sunday’s so-called Third Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM3) in Cebu City, with the highlight being placed on financing issues and the public-private partnership (PPP) initiative.
On its agenda, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) said it will place a “particular emphasis on quality infrastructure as a necessary component of economic growth,” given that the region is gearing up for better connectivity by 2025.
Quality infrastructure directly supports efficient transportation and telecommunication services; air and sea ports; customs procedures, energy distribution; and farm-to-fork logistics, among others.
Finance ministers are also set to discuss and launch the Cebu Action Plan on a Financial Road Map this month, with “Accelerating Infrastructure Development and Financing” as one of its four pillars.
The 10-year plan calls on member-economies to set regional standards for PPP terms and practices, as well as to maximize the initiative’s role in infrastructure investment through collaboration with international organizations, such as the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.
In 2014 Apec leaders endorsed The Action Agenda on Promoting Infrastructure Investment through PPP to offer an alternative to traditional procurement methods and address the issue of capital shortages for infrastructure development in the region.
The agenda further supports the work of the Apec PPP Experts Advisory Panel—established to promote the government’s capacity building in PPP project implementation and to support regional PPP Centers—and the ongoing implementation of the Apec Multi-Year Plan on Infrastructure Development and Investment launched
in 2013.
Infrastructure is one of the key components of economic growth. In the Philippines transport infrastructure is badly needed, as reflected on the state of the roads, airports, sea terminals and train systems.