UK commits support to Luzon Economic Corridor

The United Kingdom has committed its support to the Philippines’ Luzon Economic Corridor, which connects Subic Bay, Clark, Manila, and Batangas through investments in infrastructure projects such as rail, ports, and clean energy.

According to Minister of State Seema Malhotra, the UK is keen on supporting government projects under the Luzon Economic Corridor, following the launch of the Growth and Investment Partnership Plus (GIP+) between the Philippines and the UK on Monday.

“Today we take our cooperation further, with the UK joining the Philippines, the United States, Japan, and others in developing the Luzon Economic Corridor, a major effort to connect key cities with better transport, energy, and economic infrastructure,” she said in a speech in Taguig City.

“We are also working to ensure that UK Export Finance can support the government’s projects directly, opening the door to more high-quality, UK-backed infrastructure to achieve the corridor’s ambitions and initiatives across the Philippines more widely,” she added.

The LEC is a partnership with the US and Japan, which was announced during the Trilateral Leaders’ Summit in Washington DC in April 2024.
https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/money/economy/903400/us-japan-to-fund-luzon-corridor-o-ran-tech/story/

The GIP+, a toolkit of the UK and the Philippines that has delivered an approximately $18 million in official development assistance for advisory and project preparation, has brought in around $104 million in private sector financing.

“Together with like-minded partners, we are strengthening coordination and strategic investments across the Subic-Clark-Manila-Batangas corridor,” Finance Secretary Frederick Go said in a speech delivered by Undersecretary Joven Balbosa.

“We also appreciate our continued close collaboration with the UK on the finalization of the government-to-government arrangement and on identifying priority projects for potential financing through the JETCO (Joint Economic and Trade Committee) infrastructure sectoral working group,” he added.

The UK and the Philippines last March first met for trade talks under the first JETCO meeting, which aims to upgrade the bilateral trade relationship that was estimated to be worth £2.8 billion in 2024.

“May I assure everybody that the long-term fundamentals of the Philippine economy remain intact and on solid footing — strong GDP growth, manageable inflation, a robust labor market, and prudent fiscal management,” Go said.

Economic growth came in at 3.0% in the fourth quarter of 2025, the weakest quarterly performance since the 3.8% contraction recorded in the first quarter of 2021 when lockdowns were still in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/money/economy/974591/ph-economy-misses-growth-target-3rd-straight-year-4-4-in-2025/story/

?This brought the full-year 2025 growth to 4.4%, lower than the administration’s already downgraded goal  of 5.5% to 6.5%. This is the third straight year that the country has fallen short of achieving its target.
https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/money/economy/950646/ph-economic-officials-slash-2025-2028-growth-forecasts/story/