MANILA, PHILIPPINES 29 October 2020 – The Construction and Building Technologies business mission, under the EU Business Avenues in South East Asia programme, will bring some 50 companies to share their latest products and technologies to the South East Asia market virtually. Participating in one of the most important tradeshows for the sector, PhilConstruct, the business mission will be a fully virtual one. South East Asia construction companies, contractors, suppliers, property developers and architects can schedule video meetings with the European companies from 1pm to 6pm between November 5 to 8, 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly impacted the building and construction sector in the Philippines. The government has announced a cut in the Department of Public Works and Highway budget in April this year. However, the government has also announced a PHP1.1 trillion budget for public infrastructure. This is expected to support the completion of a number of major flagship projects under the Build, Build, Build programme over the next two years. GlobalData forecasts the construction industry to shrink by 9.2% in 2020. The industry will recover, however, posting an average annual growth of 8.3% between 2021-2024, supported by investments in infrastructure, healthcare, education and renewable energy projects.1
Recently announced, the construction of the Malolos-Clark Railway Project, a flagship Philippine project funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), is expected to begin soon, following the signing of three civil works contracts worth more than $1.7 billion.
This will not only help the country’s economic revival over the next 1-2 years, create 24,000 jobs, and benefit 350,000 commuters daily with reduced traveling upon completion in 2025, but also reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 60,000 tons annually. Once completed, the railway system will employ 1,400 people and spur larger, indirect employment and economic benefits to local businesses and raw material suppliers and manufacturers.2
“The business mission will showcase European innovation in building materials, installation systems and products, robotization techniques, energy efficiency solutions, quality monitoring and control, smart and green building solutions, and many more. Many of these can help to increase productivity and efficiency, thus reducing cost for construction companies, such as automation system, robotics for solar panel cleaning, software to improve communications and software for data collection.”
“The Southeast Asia market can definitely benefit from the solutions that the Construction and Building Technologies business mission is showcasing,” said Mr Thomas Wiersing, Chargé d’Affaires a.i. EU Delegation to the Philippines. “We are very happy that the business mission can take place virtually to still allow the European companies to connect with S.E.A. industry players despite the pandemic and travel restrictions. I hope that this virtual connection will benefit both regions.”
1https://www.giiresearch.com/report/time237680-construction-philippines-key-trends-opportunities.html
About EU Business Avenues in South East Asia
The EU Business Avenues in South East Asia programme provides a comprehensive suite of dedicated services covering business, cultural and legal needs – Market Studies, Business Culture Awareness Training and Business Meetings. All of these are expected to facilitate collaboration with local players, in the form of joint ventures, distributorships or licensing agreements, and to smoothen and speed up the process of entry into local markets.
This EU-funded initiative was launched in June 2016 and aims to bring up to 1,000 European SMEs on targeted business missions to South East Asia over the next five years to help them to develop their businesses outside of Europe. Built upon a concept of matchmaking and business support services, the Business Avenues programme helps European companies to forge long-lasting business collaborations in several markets, including Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand.
During 2016-2020, the business missions under this programme will cover the following sectors: Contemporary European Design, Construction & Building Technologies, Environment & Water Technologies, Organic Food & Beverage, Green Energy Technologies, Healthcare & Medical Technologies, and Information & Communication Technologies. For more information, visit www.eubusinessavenues.com.
The full list of companies participating in this business mission and a description of their companies/products can be found at https://www.eubusinessavenues.com/business-missions/construction-building-technologies-2020/exhibitor-directory