Construction spending to spur more growth

THE recent calamities in the country are expected to spur private and public spending in the construction sector including real estate developments.

People rebuilding their homes and government fixing damaged infrastructure can help make this happen, said Dr. Shanaka Jayanath Peiris, International Monetary Fund (IMF) resident representative to the Philippines, during a conference in Cebu City last Friday.

The country’s 7.6 percent Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in the first half of the year is fueled mostly by private and public spending especially in construction activities – infrastructure projects for public sector and commercial and residential projects from the private sector, Peiris said.

He said they surmise that the trend will continue as government is expected to funnel more funds for infrastructure projects in partnership with the private sector.

As of August, the administration has announced they have allocated P399 billion in funds for infrastructure development.

This is expected to increase in the coming years with the government targeting to increase spending by at least five percent of the country’s GDP growth, Peiris said.

ONE OASIS

Meanwhile, a real estate developer expressed optimism of the continued growth of the industry after the sector realized good sales performance from its properties in October and November despite the recent earthquake.

They predict a 50 percent sales increase in October to November as compared to previous months’ sales, said Lyds Eco, Filinvest area general manager for Visayas during the inauguration of their residential condominium project in Mabolo, Cebu City called One Oasis.

“Traditionally, we always see spikes in sales towards the end of the year but when the earthquake happened, we were really expecting a setback. That is not what happened though,” said Eco./Reporter Aileen Garcia-Yap