The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is pushing for the building of local road infrastructure that connects food production hubs, economic zones, and logistics to promote more inclusive growth opportunities in the regions.
Trade and Industry Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual told members of the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (FINEX) where he was the guest speaker of the inaugural meeting and inducting officer that DTI is working with the Department of Public Works and Highways for a logistics converge program called ROLL IT or Roads Leveraging Linkages for Industry and Trade.
ROLL IT is part of the government’s efforts to widen the network and local road infrastructure that connects the various ecozones, trade centers, and logistics hubs.
Pascual did not discuss further details of ROLL IT, but said that the second phase of this program will focus on contributing to food logistics, now tagged as ROLL IT - LET’S EAT, or Logistics Efficiency and Transport Seamlessness to Enhance Agribusiness Trade.
In addition to developing the modern needs cluster, and creating more opportunities for inclusive growth through MSMEs, Pascual stressed that another way by which DTI accelerates inclusive development is by “connecting cities, provinces, and regions.”
“By connecting communities, particularly those with differences in growth, more livelihoods may be created. Economic activity also attracts support services like logistics, financial services, and tourism. This creates wealth and prosperity in localities, with local governments earning more revenues to develop their areas (given the Mandanas ruling),” Pascual pointed out.
By linking production hubs to a road infrastructure, Pascual said, they can advance innovation and entrepreneurship to drive regional industrialization.
With these strategic directions and initiatives, he said, the DTI is positioned to contribute to accelerating inclusive and sustainable growth. In attaining the government’s industrial transformation agenda, he said that DTI will rely on active collaboration among government, industry, academic and training community, and development partners.
The DTI chief then invited the FINEX members to work with the DTI in pushing the country in the same direction.
The trade secretary further pointed out that a vital component of the work toward shared prosperity is “helping ensure growth and development not only in urban and rural communities but across regions.”
To enable this, DTI has established Regional Inclusive Innovation Centers (RIICs). RIICs connect innovation agents and other stakeholders in the regions.