Philippines — The Department of Transportation (DOTr) has delivered P6.6 billion worth of airport projects so far under the Marcos administration, benefiting travel and tourism in the regions.

In a report, the DOTr said it has completed 48 projects to date upgrading regional airports in compliance with President Marcos’ directive to invest in aviation infrastructure.

The DOTr has spent P6.6 billion for these projects, distributing the amount for various upgrades of airports in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

The largest of these airport projects include the construction of new facilities at the Vigan Airport and the establishment of another taxiway at the Davao International Airport.
The agency has also rehabilitated the passenger terminal buildings of the airports in Butuan and General Santos City.

Moreover, the DOTr has enhanced the gateways to Bacolod, Basco, Busuanga, Cauayan, Cuyo, Laoag and Palanan. The agency said more projects are underway with the goal of building up inter-island connectivity.
For 2025, the DOTr is seeking P12 billion from Congress for its aviation infrastructure program, still prioritizing the rehabilitation and upgrade of regional airports.

Improving provincial gateways is seen as one way to disperse economic growth, as it encourages airlines to connect the regions to the rest of the archipelago and outside the Philippines.

Cebu Pacific will begin flying direct between Davao and Bangkok, by way of Don Mueang, on Oct. 28. The route will be flown thrice a week, giving travelers multiple options in reaching tourist hotspot Thailand.

Source: Philstar

SCB EIC, a research centre under Siam Commercial Bank (SCB), has raised concerns that the economy might be on the verge of entering a “lost decade”.

Drawing from Japan’s experience, SCB EIC warns that Thailand could face economic stagnation extending until 2050.

The term “lost decade” is used to describe Japan’s economy during the 1990s, characterised by two key features: (1) prolonged low economic growth and (2) a loss of confidence among the Japanese people that the economy would recover to its former growth levels, leading them to save more and spend less.

Japan entered its lost decade following the asset price bubble crisis (1986-91).

The asset price bubble crisis ultimately impacted household balance sheets, resulting in Japan experiencing an extended economic stagnation lasting over three decades.

Comparing the Thai economy since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic with Japan’s economy when the asset bubble burst, it is evident that both countries saw their real GDP and private sector confidence deviate from pre-crisis trends in a similar manner, with no signs of returning to pre-crisis trends.

“Thailand’s economy is likely to enter into such a pattern during the post- pandemic period with real GDP and private confidence deterioration,” warned SCB EIC chief economist Somprawin Manprasert.

Source: Bangkok Post

It’s been four years since COVID-19 began emptying office buildings worldwide, and the commercial real estate sector is still feeling the fallout. Higher interest rates, waning demand for office space, and empty, difficult-to-convert office towers are among the challenges the market faces.
Those same trends present an opportunity for the sector to adapt to how people want to live and work today.

At the 2024 MIT World Real Estate Forum in June, industry experts offered their perspectives on the sector’s opportunities and roadblocks.

They suggested ways that commercial real estate could be reimagined to provide more flexibility — encompassing everything from shorter lease terms to office spaces designed with the help of artificial intelligence.

“People went home four-plus years ago; many of them never came back. Those that [did] are showing us that they want completely different things,” said Dror Poleg, an economic historian and author of the 2019 book “Rethinking Real Estate.”

“The restaurants are full, the hotels are full, the venues are full. Just the offices seem to have a problem, and housing seems to have a problem in terms of accommodating people where they actually want to be,” Poleg said.

Amid an environment where about a fifth of U.S. office space remains empty and commercial real estate prices overall have tumbled by 11% since March 2022, the panel — moderated by James Scott, director of the MIT Real Estate Transformation Lab — looked for bright spots.

One big challenge is that the office buildings of the past are not fit for the future, said Benjamin Breslau, chief research officer at Jones Lang LaSalle, a provider of real estate and investment management services.

“There are probably too many of them, and some percentage, we’ll find out, are somewhat obsolete, either from a modernization, sustainability, technology, or a location perspective,” Breslau said. “Those things are hard to change, especially in a world where the cost of capital is high and capital is not looking to flow into office buildings.”

Conversely, mixed-use
commercial real estate — which combines commercial and residential — is thriving in areas such as Newbury Street in Boston’s Back Bay, a formerly residential area where there’s more structural flexibility than, say, in an area with multiple office towers.

“A lot of our clients are telling us right now they have offices in the right cities but in the wrong neighborhoods,” said Breslau.

He predicted that more
people will want to work and live somewhere that feels like a community and said that mixed-use environments can help achieve this.

With sustainability a priority for many companies these days, mixed-use buildings are being touted for their ability to help the environment by reducing commute times.

However, Jinhua Zhao, professor of cities and transportation at MIT, said that it’s important to consider how the hybrid mindset can contribute to carbon emissions as it relates to the buildings themselves. In a

“work everywhere, anytime” environment, electricity is usually on both at home and in the office, whereas before and during the pandemic, it was mostly one or the other.
“People love flexibility, but we have a huge price to pay for it,” Zhao said.

Source: MIT