31 August 2015 – In support of the goal of APEC regional connectivity by 2025, APEC places particular emphasis on quality infrastructure as a necessary component of economic growth at the Third Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM3) and the Finance Ministers’ Meeting to be held in Cebu from September 05 to 06 and from September 10 to 11, respectively.
APEC recognizes the importance of quality infrastructure in economic growth of the Asia-Pacific, not only in physically connecting the region but also in ensuring the efficient movement of goods, services, and people between and within borders. Quality infrastructure directly supports efficient transportation and telecommunication services, air and sea ports, customs procedures, energy distribution, farm-to-fork logistics, among others.
In 2014, APEC Leaders endorsed The Action Agenda on Promoting Infrastructure Investment through Public-Private Partnership (PPP) to offer an alternative to traditional procurement methods and address the issue of capital shortages for infrastructure construction in the region.
The Agenda further supports the work of the APEC PPP Experts Advisory Panel—established to promote government’s capacity building in PPP project implementation and to support regional PPP Centers— and the ongoing implementation of the APEC Multi-Year Plan on Infrastructure Development and Investment launched in 2013.
Recognizing the importance of investing in infrastructure, APEC Finance Ministers are set to discuss and launch the Cebu Action Plan on a Financial Roadmap this September with “Accelerating Infrastructure Development and Financing” as one of its four pillars. The ten-year Plan calls member economies to set regional standards for PPP terms and practices as well as to maximize PPP’s role in infrastructure investment through collaboration with international organizations, such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB), World Bank, and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Parallel to Finance Ministers’ discussions on infrastructure investment, Senior Officials will hold the inaugural meeting of the Friends of the Chair on Urbanization on 03 September to discuss, among others, ways APEC can improve strategic infrastructure to support industry clusters, logistics systems, transportation, ICTs and social infrastructure within a city, between cities, and among economies. APEC’s rising urban population is expected to account for 60% of the total population in 2030 and 70% in 2050.
In its collective pursuit for a more integrated and connected Asia-Pacific, APEC is finding pragmatic and practicable ways to address the infrastructure needs of the region. END