NIRAS in Manila, Philippines

The Philippines office employs around 30 full-time staff and close to 100 more personnel in our various projects in the country and others within the region, including Bangladesh, Pakistan and Viet Nam. We facilitate close interaction with project beneficiaries, national and local authorities, association partners, clients and other stakeholders, enabling immediate and effective collaboration and communication.

The office captures all the benefits that NIRAS provides as a global organisation: a strong, decentralised matrix organisation with certified systems of management and technical expertise, complemented by operational capabilities and an in-depth understanding of the local context.

The Manila office provides services across 3 sectors

• Infrastructure

• Offshore Wind

• International Development Consulting

Our projects in this area includes:

Strengthening the Transition of Vulnerable Communities, ADB, 2020-Present

The Malolos-Clark Railway Project (MCRP) and South Commuter Railway (SCRP) financed by the ADB and Japan International Cooperation Agency are supporting the construction of two sections of the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) totalling 53.2 kilometres. The ADB and Department of Transportation (DOTr) recognise the potential of the “Graduation Approach” to assist project-affected households (AHs) relocated under this project to achieve key milestones towards sustainable livelihoods and socioeconomic resilience. The programme assists AHs to develop livelihood programmes based on their individual contexts and productive assets. The NIRAS-led consortium provides access to training, coaching and other support services to enable AHs to "graduate" from extreme poverty. Best practices and lessons learned from employing this model will serve to improve future policies governing resettlement.

Gender-responsive procurement (GRP) in the Asia Pacific:
Assessment and recommendations for supporting women-led
businesses, ADB and UN Women, 2020-2021

Gender-responsive procurement is emerging as a powerful means to act as a bridge women’s businesses to markets and support their viability and growth and will allow larger companies to put a gender-lens to their sourcing footprint and ultimately allow international trade to become more gender equal.The purpose of the regional benchmarking study was to assess existing and future opportunities for gender responsive procurement in the Asia Pacific, addressing both the public and private sectors.

The project focused on Indonesia, Thailand, Viet Nam, and the Philippines. Among the project outputs, NIRAS developed an overview of GRP practices in the public and private sectors, value chain analysis of main sectors and companies where women’s involvement is high and where women’s businesses are concentrated, and provided recommendations through policies, tools and programmatic approaches based on global best practices.

Identification of a Job Creation Programme for ARMM, European
Commission Framework Contracts, 2016
The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARRM) in Southern Philippines has been plagued by recurring internal armed conflict and high poverty incidence of 55% (2012). Due to conflict, women and children are displaced and further marginalized as there are decreasing opportunities for work due to lack of access to jobs both at the formal and informal business enterprises.

The programme aims to deliver peace at a grass root level, in the form of more income earning opportunities and improved livelihoods for ex-combatants, their dependents and the Internally Displaced Populations (IDPs) that have been affected by years of conflict and neglect.

The NIRAS-led consortium identified the main target beneficiaries of the programme, optimum livelihood opportunities in the relevant sectors, the obstacles and barriers that restrict these potentials, and possible contributions for the EU to lift these obstacles.

Our work on this thematic area involves:

TA to the Biodiversity Conservation and Management of
Protected Areas in ASEAN (BCAMP), EC, 2017-2023

In ASEAN countries, this project successfully enhanced biodiversity conservation and made effective the management of each nation’s protected areas. It provided technical support to the ASEAN Center for Biodiversity (ACB) primarily to reduce biodiversity loss. Site-level interventions improved biodiversity conservation and protected area management, as well as supported the ASEAN Heritage Parks (AHP) Programme. National interventions emphasised the mainstreaming of biodiversity conservation and protected area management in development plans and educational systems among ASEAN countries by using and developing scientific knowledge as basis for biodiversity conservation.

On a regional level, the project highlighted capacity building and training, and capitalised on the institutional strengthening of the ACB as a regional mechanism that supported the ASEAN regional agenda on biodiversity.

Mindanao Irrigation Development Project, ADB, 2020-2021

The project will assist the Government of the Philippines to increase productivity and climate resilience of irrigated agriculture in Mindanao by (i) Strengthening irrigation planning, design, and management capacities; (ii) Developing efficient and climate resilient irrigation systems;
and (iii) Adopting climate resilient irrigated farming practices. The
NIRAS-led consortium provides expertise and resources for international experts in water resources, agriculture development, GIS/asset management, climate change and social development specialists.

Climate Adaptive Integrated Flood Risk Management (CAIFRM) Project

As a regional hub for the ADB market and as the consortium lead, the Manila office is providing management support to the project. The project will identify and develop opportunities to build climate-resilient Flood-Risk Management (FRM) infrastructure in the Red-Thai Binh River and the Ma River and help the Vietnamese government implement their FRM plan.

Philippines: Protecting and Investing in Natural Capital in Asia
and the Pacific - Public Awareness and Demand Reduction, ADB,
2019-2020

This project combatted organised environmental crime in the Philippines through three key components: NIRAS’s role was to implement the third component of the project, focussing on Public Awareness and Demand Reduction. The component aimed to (1) increase public awareness of the direct impacts of illegal wildlife trade on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning and services and (2) implement demand reduction measures
for at least two priority illegally traded wildlife species in the Philippines.

Some of the outputs provided to achieve the outcomes include a nationwide survey to understand the demand for illegal wildlife and trends in consumer behaviour. Despite the challenges in data collection during the strict COVID-19 related restrictions in the country, our experts have managed to develop innovative knowledge product solutions to advance data collection without face-to-face interaction. An innovative Economic Valuation paper highlighted the larger value of wildlife to society beyond its physical attributes. A Communication, Education, and Public Awareness Campaign (CEPA) helped increase awareness on the effects of illegal wildlife trade and inspire stakeholders into action and to influence and effect societal and legislative changes. While a Consumer Demand Reduction Study (CDR) analyzed the effectiveness of the campaign and highlighted areas that needs strengthening in succeeding wildlife advocacy campaigns.

The three knowledge products and a social media video from the CEPA campaign was recognised during the Annual Global Wildlife Conference as the "Most Useful Project Resources" in a series of 5 mini-competitions involving 36 projects spanning 31 countries.

Support to the Philippines in Shaping and Implementing the International Climate Change Regime (SupportCCC II) GIZ, 2016-2018

The project supported the Government of the Philippines in developing renewable energy resources and integrating the electricity into the national grid. Main services rendered included renewable energy policy implementation and energy market design, integrated energy planning and renewable energy integration. The NIRAS-led consortium provided technical advice to the Department of Energy for data modelling and analysis, studies, development of technical reports and development of training modules and sessions with the objective of facilitating the implementation of climate change policies at national and sub-national levels and promoting the usage of renewable energies (RE).

When it comes to construction, land development or alterations to natural landscapes, obtaining permits and consents from government bodies is
indispensable, particularly for offshore wind projects. But navigating this process can prove to be lengthy and bureaucratic; however, firms experienced in this undertaking can make it easier.

As a result of our decades-long track record in defining and obtaining permits and consents for offshore wind farms — as well as their associated infrastructure — we have developed a streamlined process for legal compliance to ensure the success of offshore wind projects in the Philippines. Moreover, we can perform risk management work and have proactively monitored potential hazards in previous projects.

NIRAS Asia Manila maintains close coordination with our Taiwan and European counterparts, drawing on their substantial experience with top offshore wind developers, including Ørsted and RWE. Our expertise, grounded in both local and global perspectives, fully equips us to build towards a successful offshore wind sector in the Philippines.

Permitting and Consenting to Offshore Wind Energy, UNOPS-ETP 2023-Present

Initiated by the Department of Energy with backing from the Southeast Asian Energy Transition Partnership, the project “Permitting and Consenting to Offshore Wind Energy” aims to create a streamlined process for offshore wind development in the Philippines.

This critical project is being implemented in response to Executive Order No. 21, which mandates the establishment of an efficient policy framework for the successful development of offshore wind in the Philippines, and as a result of amendments made to the Public Service Act, which allows for
the complete foreign ownership of public services, including renewable energy development.

The Philippines is highly conducive to offshore wind power generation. A roadmap by the World Bank Group and the Department of Energy anticipates a potential 21 gigawatts of energy produced through offshore windin the country, and one gigawatt alone can provide power to nearly 900,000 households. This makes the project crucial in aligning government agencies as they pursue the advancement of offshore wind energy in the Philippines. It also stands as a testament to NIRAS’s trusted services in both project delivery and preparation.

EdTech Solutions for Last Mile Schools in COVID-19, ADB, 2021-2023

As part of the Philippine Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, public education has transitioned towards blended learning modalities. The project aims to build on international experience on education technology (EdTech); test the approach in a disadvantaged, remote setting in rural Philippines; and identify best practices and lessons learned for EdTech solutions that can be implemented during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Accelerating Climate Resilience in Agriculture,
Natural Resources and the Environment, ADB 2023-Present

Accelerating Climate Resilience in Agriculture, Natural Resources and the Environment (ANRE) is an ADB-funded project that aims to curtail the effects of climate change in the Philippines by strengthening sectors – namely, agriculture, natural resources and the environment – drastically affected by this global phenomenon.

NIRAS’s role involves preparing the implementation readiness of ANRE through diagnostic and analytical work, policy advice, capacity building and multi-stakeholder dialogues. Examples of project activities include supporting the research and development of non-GMO climate-smart technologies and preparing a medium-term agriculture insurance roadmap.
ANRE is the first of its kind as a project that will give rise to a policy-based loan for climate change. It falls under the Climate Change Action Programme, whose primary objective to enable vulnerable sectors adapt to climate change, as well as mitigate the carbon footprint of sectors that regularly pump out greenhouse gases (i.e., energy and transport).

Ex-Post Evaluation of the Disaster Risk Management and Institutional Strengthening of Local Government Units (DRM-IS) Technical Assistance, AFD, 2022

The independent evaluation assessed the DRM-IS Technical Assistance to the Government of the Philippines’ Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and 52 local government units (LGUs). The TA aimed to achieve the Philippines’ disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) vision of a “safer, adaptive, and disaster-resilient Filipino communities towards sustainable development” by enabling the LGUs to improve their institutional, technical and financial capacity for adequate performance and delivery of DRRM services.

The evaluation used the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Development Assistance Committee Development Assistance Committee (OECD-DAC) Criteria, and examined the TA against Relevance,
Effectiveness, Efficiency, Coherence, and Sustainability. Moreover, the evaluation examined the extent of the project contribution in terms of increases in institutional capacity at the DILG and LGU levels. Lastly, the evaluation identified critical lessons to inform and frame future programs and investment of AFD in the Philippines, particularly in disaster preparedness and devolution of functions to LGUs.

NIRAS Asia Manila Inc.
17F IBP Tower, Jade Drive
Brgy. San Antonio, Pasig City 1605
Manila, Philippines

+63 917 172 1033