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Background and Context
The Philippine Government has an ambitious vision for strengthening the country’s infrastructure, with the aim of reaching 7.3% of GDP spending by 2022. The “Build Build Build” Programme (BBB), valued at £152 billion, drives the Philippine infrastructure agenda and includes over 100 high-value projects improving mass transport and promoting urban development. In light of COVID-19, the government has further pushed infrastructure as a pillar for economic recovery, citing job creation and other multiplier effects as key outcomes. This year, infrastructure has been allocated £20 billion, or 29.4% of the 2021 National Budget.
Expanding and strengthening the railway network is part of the priority projects identified by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to further provide an efficient transport system for the general commuting public. The North-South Railway Project (NSRP) is a railway line between Metro Manila, also known as National Capital Region (NCR) of the Philippines and Legaspi City, the capital of Albay province. The NSRP revitalises the oldest rail system in south-east Asia, including a 56km-long commuter rail or North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) and a 653km long-haul passenger rail service between Metro Manila and the under-served regions in South Luzon. An extension of the NSCR project has been approved and the 148km project is under development through co-financing by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Japan (JICA).
The ADB is also funding preparation work for the Metro Manila MRT-4 Line, which will span 15.56km and will have 11 stations from N. Domingo in Quezon City to Taytay, Rizal province. Other active and future projects include the Metro Manila MRT-7 Line, the Metro Manila Subway, the Mindanao Rail, the Subic-Clark Rail, and the Clark-New Clark City Rail. As the Philippine government ramps up implementation of various rail projects, the current gap in the country’s industry skills in the rail sector has been acknowledged. Thus in 2019, the Philippine Railways Institute (PRI) was established to serve as the main research and training centre for personnel in the railway sector. PRI will likewise serve as the planning, implementing, and regulatory agency for the human resources development of the existing railway systems. The PRI and other academic and training institutions look to develop and enhance the potential and skills of those who will build, serve and operate the railways network.
Market Sounding Webinar
The event will be held using the Webex platform.
>> Interested participants should register in advance here.
Registrations close at 18:00 BST on Monday 10th May 2021.
The Department for International Trade (DIT) will host a market sounding webinar for potential UK skills suppliers. DIT colleagues from the Philippines, supported by DIT London specialists, will provide an overview of the Philippine rail projects and outline the opportunities for skills development.
The webinar will be relevant to high-quality UK registered skills / technical and vocational education and training suppliers including:
- Further Education Colleges / National Colleges
- High education universities and providers
- Independent Private Training Providers (ITPs)
- Sector Skills Councils / National Skills Academies
- Education technology providers
- English language providers
- Awarding organisations
Objectives
- UK registered suppliers will be given an overview of the rail projects in Philippines
- Those UK registered suppliers who have a high quality and relevant skills offer who wish to be further considered will be offered the opportunity to submit information detailing their relevant capabilities (including recent innovations) for the project.
Outline programme:
Tuesday 11th May 2021: 09:00 to 10:00 British Summer Time (BST). Programme content subject to change.
Time |
Speaker / Topic |
09:00 |
Welcome and Introduction |
09:10 |
Project overview and update from DIT Philippines |
09:30 |
Skills provider coordination from DIT London |
09:45 |
Q&A |
09:55 |
Actions and summary |
10:00 |
Close |
The event will be held using the Webex platform.
>> Interested participants should register in advance here.
Registrations close at 18:00 BST on Monday 10th May 2021.
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