Construction investments up 6.8% in 2017

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine construction industry is back in the limelight following the government’s commitment to approve and implement more big-ticket infrastructure projects, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said.

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said the government’s Build Build Build program was a big boost to the Philippine construction industry in 2017, attracting P627.4 billion in investments, or 6.8 percent higher than the 2016 level.

Of the amount, P162.7 billion came from government infrastructure spending and P464.7 billion was from private construction activities.

Trade Undersecretary Ruth Castelo attributed the increase in construction investments to higher consumer confidence and improved labor market conditions.

Castelo also pointed out the efforts made by DTI’s Construction Industry Authority of the Philippines, which has been actively gathering local industry participants in the form of dialogues and symposia with the government infrastructure sector.

“With massive support from the government, we know that contractors are willing, ready and able to group together for increased efficiency and capability to implement big-ticket infrastructure projects,” Castelo said.

The construction industry employed 3.86 million workers in 2017, up 10.3 percent from 2016.

“With the ramped-up infrastructure spending and anticipated rollout of massive infrastructure projects, the industry would need an addition of at least two million workers across the country for the next five years. This means two million more jobs for our countrymen,” Castelo said.

The DTI said agencies like the Construction Manpower Development Foundation has accredited a total of 322 construction project managers and superintendents capable of handling big ticket infrastructure projects, the Philippine Overseas Construction Board has accredited 1,557 construction performance evaluators, and Construction Industry Arbitration Commission has accredited 89 arbitrators and 28 mediators that settle construction disputes in 2017.

As of November, meanwhile, the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board has given license to 9,408 domestic firms and accredited at least five foreign firms, while 35 special licenses have been issued to Chinese, Japanese, Korean Italian, Singaporean and Australian contractors in partnership with Filipino construction companies.