Government and Private Sector representatives discuss investing on PH water infrastructure solutions

The Philippine Government hosted the event entitled “Investment Forum: Opportunities in Sustainable Water Utilization and Infrastructure Development” at the Bonifacio and Jacinto Meeting Rooms, Philippine International Convention Center on 13 February 2024.

This forum was made possible by the UK Government through the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) of the British Embassy Manila, and coursed through the former’s Green Cities and Infrastructure Programme (GCIP) that supports the development of sustainable climate-resilient infrastructure, notably in low-to-middle income economies in Asia and Africa. PwC UK is the delivery partner through PwC Philippines.

The forum presented interagency efforts spearheaded by the Integrated Water Resource Management Working Group (IWRM-WG), which comprises members from the Office of the President (OP), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Finance (DOF), the Department of Agriculture (DA), and the National Irrigation Authority (NIA), among other Government Agencies. Together, this group has been actively formulating the government’s approach to solve various and cross-cutting problems of the country in the water sector.

The speakers were British Ambassador Laure Beaufils, DENR Sec. Ma. Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga, Ambassador Marciano Paynor, Jr., DOF Usec. Catherine Fong, DENR Usec. Carlos Primo C. David, Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center Usec. Cynthia Hernandez, Senior Deputy Executive Secretary Hubert Dominic Guevara, Administrator Eduardo G. Guillen of the NIA, Mr. Srini Nagarajan of the British International Investments (BII), and Mr. Luke Foley of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG). They participated in the Q&A session, which was
moderated by Mr. Lloyd Cameron, the Economic and Climate Counsellor at the British Embassy.

The discussions highlighted more sustainable, mixed-use infrastructure developments and the opportunity for the private sector to invest into proposed integrated solutions to water security, flooding and saline intrusion, and power generation, among others. Some other takeaways include:

• The concepts of water security and even scarcity are not novel even in an archipelago such as the Philippines. The upside, however, is that the Marcos administration has been championing reforms to accelerate the delivery of basic economic services, and infrastructure services, including water.
• The DOF highlighted the urgency of the National Government to address the challenges in the water sector, calling upon the need for infrastructure investment and private sector participation. As the Philippines continues to position itself as the premier investment destination with an economy geared for a rapid expansion, the DOF invited the private sector to engage in business with the government.
• The DENR shed light on how our surface water sources can be unlocked – by diverting from agriculture to multi-use, or integrated use. Irrigation, being at the heart of this potent inventory, was highlighted by the NIA as its attractive strongbox of resources and assets such as dams and riverway infrastructure. At least 135 water projects for investment of various scales can now be revisited to tackle the all-too-important nexus of water, food, and energy security.
• The PPP Center discussed the scope and processes under the newly enacted PPP Code of the Philippines, which addressed the ambiguities in the Build-Operate-Transfer Law. The PPP Code enhances the ease of doing business with the private sector through the creation of a more stable and predictable policy environment for collaboration in high-impact infrastructure projects.
• External British institutions such as the BII and the PIDG reiterated the climate agenda as concurrent and as focal as looking into water infrastructure priorities. Climate pressures are very real, and so are its repercussions on the viability of capital-intensive water projects. They can and are willing to augment the propagation of impact investments. But from the host country’s end, this requires productivity, sustainability and inclusion. It also requires scale – the need to create scale and mobilize all forms of capital. Financing support, whether concessional or commercial, also carries risk – and it behooves us to cooperate to prepare well-thought out proposals, to de-risk capital projects, and look through all these possibilities in a more sustainable and humane manner.

PwC Philippines Deals and Corporate Finance Managing Partner Mary Jade Roxas-Divinagracia oversaw the firm’s event service delivery, and was mainly assisted by Markets Director Gabby de Vera, who also hosted the program. PwC Philippines Capital Projects and Infrastructure Partner Brando Cabalsi and his team were among the 200 onsite participants, while almost 100 more joined via Zoom.