European firms keen on Noy's PPP projects

MANILA, Philippines - European companies and financial institutions are interested in participating in the government’s public-private partnership (PPP) for infrastructure projects, the European Union’s envoy to the Philippines said.

In a chance interview with The STAR, EU Ambassador Alistair Macdonald said that European companies would be interested in infrastructure projects in the area of energy.

“Projects on the energy side and renewable energy side would be of particular interest to European companies, including other organizations such as the European Investment Bank,” Macdonald said.

The EIB is the European Union’s lending institution. It is a publicly owned bank.

Macdonald said that he is now waiting for more details on possible projects in the area of energy and renewable power.

“I understand that there are already 10 but I’d be very interested to see a larger list,” he said.

Budget Secretary Florencio Abad has said that there are already at least 10 infrastructure projects in the pipeline to be presented to global investors on Nov. 18 and 19 during the planned PPP conference to be held in Manila.

While Abad declined to identify the projects, he said these are in different areas such as food supply chain, food security, water, transport and other key areas.

Abad believes that if the government is able to attract enough investors for infrastructure project then it can expect a significant improvement in economic growth.

Macdonald said that once he gets enough information on the other possible infrastructure projects aside from the 10 on the initial list, he would be able to pass this on to their constituents in Europe.

Faced with a budget deficit that is projected to hit P325 billion this year, the Aquino administration wants to use government funds mainly for social services and tap private sector help for needed infrastructure projects.