The Construction Industry Authority of the Philippines, an attached agency of the Trade Department, said the sector is expected to contribute P130 trillion to the economy and employ 7 million workers by 2030.
The projections are contained in the Construction Industry Roadmap, which aims to sustain the growth of the construction sector in the next 10 years in support of the government’s “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure program.
“The roadmap is a proof of the Philippine government’s holistic commitment in improving the quality of construction services consistent with principles of sustainability, increasing the number of globally competitive Filipino construction industry players and equipping the whole project cycle with efficient and modern technologies,” said Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez.
“In consultation with stakeholders and with our team of experts and partners, we have identified the roadblocks in the construction industry that must be addressed to reach our goals,” he said.
The roadmap will guide the construction industry as it aims to grow its contribution to the economy from P2.3 trillion in 2018 to P130 trillion by 2030. It also represents a growth of about 325 percent from the P43-trillion projection sans a roadmap.
Its implementation will also increase job opportunities for the construction workforce from 4 million in 2018 to 7 million by 2030, translating into a generation of three million new jobs.
Lopez also disclosed the agency’s drive to develop the country as an artificial intelligence center for excellence, where industries like construction would be able to produce higher value software and hardware products and outputs with the use of technology.
“The role of innovation in construction development is very important. The construction ecosystem now has focused on finding solutions to the many challenges faced by the industry. And AI will be our answer to these challenges,” he said.
“An example will be machine learning that could optimize schedules to order target deadlines as well as detect discrepancies in blueprints and correct them through programmed scenarios. Imagine if the Philippines will be able to design and produce this kind of system for our construction industry. We could eventually start exporting knowledge processing in the future,” said Lopez.
Lopez said the country would leverage on the strengths of the Filipino workforce that is skilled, educated, highly- trainable, has a good work attitude and with excellent command of English in realizing this vision.