Poor transpo infra impedes investments growth in Central Visayas

CEBU, Philippines - The snail-paced growth of trade and investments in Central Visayas has been caused by the lack of transportation access that is giving traders a hard time and slowing down the flow of goods in the region.

Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) vice president for the Visayas Jose Ng made this statement amid the high potential of the Visayas region to attract investments and spur trade.

"Infrastructure remains a key concern for growth among businesses in the Visayas," said Ng.

Considering the archipelagic makeup of the Visayas, good transportation system or better inter-modal infrastructure should be established.

Ng said, despite the call from the general public, including the private sector players for a better transportation access, "it is still very difficult to move around from one island to another."

The private sector, Ng said calling the attention of the new government to consider this concern seriously, as connectivity improvement is vital to the entire growth of the island provinces — economically.

Ng, on the other hand expressed optimism on the direction of the government's thrust, which is to promote regional growth, which he hopes that good connectivity will be fixed immediately.

He said investors' interest to put their money in different investments is always there, in fact it has heightened in recent months, but if the connectivity is not addressed, this will remain a setback.

"Investors have no choice but to look for another place outside of Metro Manila," said Ng adding that Visayas, including Mindanao are now taking the spotlight in terms of investment opportunities.

This development should be supplemented immediately by right infrastructure support, Ng said.

In his recent pronouncement, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Mark Villar said that the proposed P458.61-billion budget of the Department will fund the country's "most ambitious infrastructure program" in 2017.

The proposed 2017 appropriation for the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is P61 billion higher than this year's P397.108 budget.

President Rodrigo Duterte has declared that infrastructure will be one of the main drivers in the country over the next few years.

Villar said that the infrastructure spending under the Duterte administration is the most ambitious infrastructure program in the history of our country.

This may provide a clearer picture of how this concern will be solved, but Ng hopes that this plan will soon translate to reality very soon.  (FREEMAN)