Infrastructure and Roads Investments in the Philippines

The Philippines lags behind its ASEAN neighbors in basic infrastructure support; ranking 90th out of 144 countries in the Global Competitiveness Index. Infrastructure investments such as roads, bridges, harbors, and airports can connect less-developed areas of the country to commercial centers, and respond to the needs of industries that drive the economy. To address these challenges, in partnership with the Australian Government, The Asia Foundation’s “Coordinating Roads and Infrastructure Investments for Development” project is: 1) bringing national agencies, local governments, and local business associations together to agree on priority infrastructure investments based on key local economic drivers; 2) institutionalizing local business participation in economic development planning; and 3) establishing provincial or regional databases on roads and infrastructures. In just the past year, the project’s support enabled 11 provincial governments to complete their road and infrastructure databases and maps, and to design investments around the main economic drivers in the province. As a result, local and national government agencies increased infrastructure funding in the 11 provinces by at least 66 percent in 2016 compared to 2015.