First project under Indo-Pacific Economic Framework
MANILA, Philippines — The United States will support the development of the Luzon corridor in the Philippines as the first project under an initiative that seeks to help accelerate investments in priority sectors in partner countries in the Indo-Pacific region.
Helaina Matza, acting special coordinator for the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment of the US Department of State told The STAR yesterday the development of the Luzon corridor, as the first PGI-IPEF (Indo-Pacific Economic Framework) Accelerator project in the Indo-Pacific region, will be announced during the trilateral meeting among the US, Philippines and Japan this week in Washington.
“At the Trilateral Summit, we will be launching the first PGI-IPEF Accelerator project in the Indo-Pacific region, and this is our commitment to work together among the three countries in helping develop the Luzon Corridor,” she said.
The PGI-IPEF Investment Accelerator aims to scale up high-standard project financing to drive sustainable economic growth by increasing project-specific financing, upstream project development and improved enabling environments for investment in priority sectors defined in cooperation with each beneficiary country.
US Ambassador for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Matt Murray said the Trilateral Summit is the perfect platform to highlight the Luzon economic corridor as the latest major expansion of the push to enhance US economic engagement with the Philippines.
“Under the PGI-IPEF Investment Accelerator, we plan to bring the whole suite of US government tools to advance the medium-term action plans to identify and address barriers to investments in key sectors and near-term infrastructure project work like the Luzon corridor that uses PGI’s model of creating a corridor of investments with those with public and private capital,” he said.
Matza said the US would work with partners in Japan and in the Philippines to support connectivity from Subic Bay to New Clark City or Clark City as a whole, to Manila and Batangas.
She said the vision involves looking at opportunities in port modernization and expansion, railways as well as clean energy.
As the US is looking to help improve efficiencies in existing infrastructure in the Luzon corridor, she said it is also looking to help ancillary industries grow.
Matza said there is an opportunity in the Philippines to bring down the percentage of food waste in North Luzon, which is at about 40 percent, when issues in transport are addressed.
“That would involve us working, of course, with the private sector on opportunities to help support cold storage facilities, but really improving the ability to transit not just on the main highway, but hopefully over time through freight rail,” Martza said.
Murray said strengthening US-Philippine relations is important for the Biden-Harris administration, with the effort going far beyond defense and security by expanding economic ties.
“As partners in prosperity, delivering tangible economic benefits to the Philippines of the trade and investment relationship with the US is critically important, and the administration is very focused on this goal,” he said.
As part of efforts to expand economic ties, he said the US and the Philippines would co-host next month the 6th Indo-Pacific Business Forum, the US government’s premier business event in the region.
He said the event would feature over 500 officials and business executives in Manila.
Through the CHIPS Act, the US is working with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the Philippine semiconductor ecosystem and with Arizona State University to bolster Philippine workforce capacity.
During the visit of US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo to the Philippines last month, she said the US is looking to help the Philippines double the number of its semiconductor facilities.
Raimondo was accompanied by 22 US firms that are investing over $1 billion for projects in various sectors in the Philippines.