By Irma Isip
[ Malaya.com.ph ] November 30, 2009
Construction, driven by housing needs of families of overseas workers and government projects, will continue to stay robust, an industry leader said over the weekend.
Anthony Fernandez, president of the Philippine Constructors Association (PCA), said reconstruction and rehabilitation from the destruction brought by recent typhoons as well as election spending will keep construction work going well into next year.
"We are very positive and optimistic of the outlook on construction because we did not suffer much from the financial crisis. We are doing 6 to 7 percent (growth) compared to other countries like Singapore and Malaysia whose construction sectors are contracting," said Fernandez.
Fernandez said that following the crisis, government infrastructure has seen its share going up to 60 percent of construction work. He said it might take a while before the ratio shifts to the private sector, the traditional driver of industry growth.
Fernandez said PCA members recently met with Manuel V. Pangilinan, head of the Philippine Disaster Recovery Foundation, on the reconstruction efforts in areas devastated by floods.
Fernandez said right now efforts are focused on clearing waterways, especially in areas around the Laguna de Bay and on relocation of informal settlers.
He said the reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts should be sustainable "beyond this administration" because these have been going on since the 1970s.
Fenandez said another factor that pushes construction is stable prices of construction materials.
Since the lifting of the import duty on cement at the beginning of the year, local prices have not moved from the year-ago level of P205 per bag.
Steel prices have also recovered from recent highs with rebars down to P28 to P29 per kilo from a peak of P50.
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