Maniolas

MANILA, Philippines – The country’s top conglomerates have expressed renewed interest in participating in the country’s largest Public-Private Partnership (PPP) project to date following the government’s move to revise the concession deal. San Miguel Corp. (SMC), Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC), DMCI Holdings Inc. and Ayala Corp. are now looking to bid for the previously failed auction of the P60-billion Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT 1) Cavite extension project, executives said. “We will look at what the conditions are but the revised terms look good,” DMCI chief finance officer Herbert Consunji said in a phone interview. “Yes, we would,” MPIC chief finance officer David Nicol said in a text message when asked if the Pangilinan-led infrastructure conglomerate will join the LRT 1 bidding anew. SMC president and chief operating officer Ramon S. Ang said the diversified conglomerate is also interested in the LRT 1 project. Early this week, Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya said the agency revised the concession agreement for LRT 1. The changes addressed five major issues: real property tax, power rates, warranty on the structure, fare adjustments, and the negative bid. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “We’re just waiting for government to reissue the new bid documents,” Noel Eli Kintanar, executive vice-president of the Ayala conglomerate’s AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp., said yesterday. “I think [the revision] addresses many of the issues that led the bidders not to put in a bid,” Kintanar said. In August, only MPIC submitted a bid without partner Read More …