Research and Markets: In November 2010, the Philippine Government Announced Plans to Initiate an Asian Development Bank-Sponsored US$1bn Renewable Energy Efficiency Loan Program

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/2c8fff/philippines_infras) has announced the addition of the "Philippines Infrastructure Report Q1 2011" report to their offering.

The Philippines Infrastructure Report provides industry professionals and strategists, corporate analysts, infrastructure associations, government departments and regulatory bodies with independent forecasts and competitive intelligence on Philippines's infrastructure industry.

Upon President Benigno Aquino's election at the end of June 2010, the Philippines has been trumpeting a plethora of infrastructure projects it plans to tout to private investors. The government intends to invite bids for PHP739.8bn (US$16.82bn) in the next two years (to 2012) alone, as it continues to move expeditiously to tackle the country's substantial infrastructure deficit. After a spike this year in construction industry value growth, the Philippines will experience slower and steadier growth over the next four years, although with considerable downside risk as the market is fraught with political, regulatory and other business environment risks. After growing strongly in H110, BMI has revised up its forecast to a growth rate of 18.1% to PHP476.3bn (US$10.6bn) in 2010.

Major recent developments include:

Aquino is seeking policies to make the Philippines a more attractive place for public-private partnerships (PPPs) and investment. The Philippines is looking to offer PHP127bn (US$2.9bn) worth of projects, with at least 10 up for tender starting in September 2010. The government has also taken to the establishment of an infrastructure fund to encourage and facilitate private investment, providing long-term financing for PPPs predominantly in the transport sector.

The Department of Public Works and Highways has allocated PHP67.01bn (US$1.39bn) of its PHP100.83bn budget for 2011 to paving and rehabilitation of national and secondary roads, as well as the construction of bridges and roads connecting farms and markets. The allocation, made in September 2010, comes amid the new government's ambition to upgrade every national road in the country.
In November 2010, the Philippine government announced plans to initiate an Asian Development Bank-sponsored US$1bn renewable energy and energy efficiency loan program, which will provide investors with the necessary long-term financing for renewable energy projects. Besides the loan program, the Philippines will also receive an additional US$250mn from the Clean Trust Fund (CTF), half of which will go to solar projects at 0.25% interest for 40 years.
Investment in infrastructure continues to grow strongly throughout the year and this is primarily driven by investment from Philippine-based companies such as San Miguel Corporation. According to the Philippine National Statistical Coordination Board, investment commitments for H110 increased by 204.6% to reach PHP264.4bn, significant higher than the same period in 2009 at PHP86.8bn. The bulk of this investment came from domestic investors, who accounted for 77.1% of total investment commitments in the country.

Although growth will drop off to 6.5% in 2011, edging up to the 8% mark thereafter, BMI expects to see investments in the sector to drive construction industry value growth at an average of 8.0% per year between 2011 and 2015. Part of this will be driven by private investment, which the new government is hoping will take a substantial portion, if not all, of infrastructure development funding. BMI expects the sector to grow to PHP841bn (US$20.6bn) by 2015, when the industry will represent 6.8% of the country's GDP.

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