The Australian government on Friday committed to share expert knowledge with the Philippines in the areas of transport, telecommunications and energy under an ongoing Partnerships for Infrastructure or P4I program designed to help bridge the country’s gaping infrastructure gap.
Australian Ambassador to the Philippines HK Yu PSM made this clear in ceremonies launching the program at the Conrad Manila hotel in Pasay City attended by infrastructure-focused private sector entities and government agencies as the Department of Finance, Department of Transportation and the Department of Energy, among others.
“P4I provides connections to Australian infrastructure skills and expertise, exemplifying Australia’s longstanding friendship with the Philippines and our commitment to mutual growth in Southeast Asia,” Ambassador Yu said.
She would not cite an investment commitment number, saying only that Australia’s help is demand-driven: “P4I is focused on the early stages of infrastructure investment development, or prioritization, planning and project procurement. This is not the ‘sexy’ ribbon-cutting part but actually the most important part of the development cycle.”
According to the Ambassador, the P4I program acknowledges that a recipient’s requirement is not always about fund but more importantly about knowledge in terms, for example, about structuring infrastructure development programs so that such programs are bankable and viable enough for investors to come and participate.
This point was emphasized by Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno who told private sector partners that the so-called Philippine infrastructure gap is extremely wide at some P9 trillion it cannot be addressed by a single funding method or even multiples of project proponents.
“This P4I program is a delivery mechanism so delivery is in the hands of recipients and we respond in what the Philippines taps into,” Ambassador Yu explained.
She also said Australia is prepared to lend its hand in any of the 194 ready-for-funding infrastructure projects that Secretary Diokno bared as part of the infrastructure deficit.
“We provide both quick and long-term advisory to improve the infrastructure development decision-making. We believe in how countries choose which development programs to prioritize is an important part of the development cycle,” the diplomat explained.
In the case of the Philippines, Ambassador Yu said Australia is particularly keen on supporting energy generation and transport connectivity “particularly in Mindanao where Australia has big development programs.”
As for direct Australian help to Filipinos, she said her country’s compulsory superannuation program, which works similarly to Manila’s pension system but estimated to have investible funds reaching $4 trillion at the moment, is looking for investment opportunities in countries like the Philippines whose development programs, properly structured, could attract some of those opportunity-hungry funds.
“Imagine where that money would eventually be deployed,” the diplomat said.
