Philippines President Benigno Aquino and Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo shake hands during a meeting at the Lambermont Residence in Brussels yesterday.

By Voltaire Palana/Manila Times

President Benigno Aquino led other government officials in promoting infrastructure projects to investors in Belgium through the public-private partnership (PPP) programme, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Gregory Domingo said.

“We are privileged to be joined by President Aquino in promoting PPP projects, which are anchored on the key pillars of his administration such as transparency, accountability and good governance,” Domingo said.

The president was the keynote speaker at an event, “The PPP Conference on Infrastructure Development in the Republic of the Philippines” yesterday at the Sofitel Brussels Europe in Belgium. The conference also featured presentations by key government officials, as well as a networking reception.

Domingo said that the conference’s goal is to bring foreign investors to see infrastructure development opportunities under the PPP programme by showing an overview of the various PPP projects, the bidding process, the legal framework and related policies governing these projects.

The PPP has been at the forefront of government’s agenda in the development and implementation of its infrastructure programme. From the time of its launch, the programme continues to attract both local and foreign investors.

Currently, it has over 50 projects in the pipeline, with an estimated investment requirement of about $20bn.

A number of these infrastructure projects such as water facilities, rails and airports are ready to be rolled out in the next 12 months.

“With the president speaking before European companies and financial institutions, I am optimistic that the conference will help bolster interest in PPP projects by European businesses and draw more investments in these projects,” Domingo said.

Domingo noted that these PPP projects would likewise be pushed in various fora in the France and Germany leg of the president’s trip to Europe from September 13- 20.

“We are thankful that we are able to draw snowballing interest from potential participants in PPP projects as well as provide an opportunity to partner with local companies,” Domingo said.

From Belgium, the president is set to visit France and Berlin.

“After these series of trips promoting investments, particularly PPP projects in the Philippines, we expect that we will be able to relay to potential European foreign investors that the country enables business that cultivates fair and transparent dealings,” Domingo said.

In Spain, the president conducted a series of dialogues with leading infrastructure development business leaders and shared future projects for bidding in the PPP programme.