ABS-CBNnews.com, 25 February 2013

MANILA, Philippines – Gokongwei-led JG Summit Holdings Inc. and Pangilinan-led Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) on Monday signed a deal to form a joint venture to bid for the P17.5 billion Mactan Cebu international airport project.

The two conglomerates signed a memorandum of agreement to form an exclusive strategic partnership to jointly pursue and bid for the Mactan Cebu airport project.

The joint venture called “MPIC-JGS Airport Consortium, Inc.” will be majority-owned by MPIC, and 33% by JG Summit. Ten percent will be owned by an airport operator partner.

“Integrating both our management expertise, corporate governance adherence and solid track record in developing large-scale infrastructure projects will strengthen the capabilities of the airport in responding to the needs of both passenger and airline customers. Achieving world-class status and modernization for our fast-growing air transport sector will be better served as we join hands in the reforms that will contribute to the growth of the country’s economy,” MPIC Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said in a statement.

JG Summit President and Chief Operating Officer Lance Gokongwei said this will be the company’s first venture in infrastructure development.

“Their (MPIC) experience in developing public infrastructure projects and in bidding for the same under the government’s current PPP system, brings great value to this partnership. We hope to grow the airport into a real efficient and commercially viable hub for both leisure and business travelers flocking to the faster-growing southern part of the country,” Gokongwei said.

The consortium will not just bid for the Mactan Cebu project but also explore other airport projects.

Business World, 25 February 2013

By Cliff Harvey C. Venzon
LISTED conglomerates Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) and JG Summit Holdings, Inc. have struck a deal to jointly bid for a multibillion-peso private-partnership project to expand and operate Mactan-Cebu International Airport, both firms said on Monday.

“MPIC and JG Summit today signed a memorandum of agreement to form an exclusive strategic partnership to jointly pursue and bid for the P17.5 billion Mactan-Cebu International Airport Passenger Terminal Project,” the statement dated Feb. 22 read.

The joint venture called MPIC-JGS Airport Consortium, Inc. will be controlled by MPIC, with JG Summit owning 33% while a still unidentified airport operator having 10% stake.

The ownership structure comes as bidding rules limit to 33% the allowed stake of a company with interests in airlines. JG Summit, controls Cebu Air, Inc., the operator of budget carrier Cebu Pacific.

MPIC and Gokongwei-led JG Summit, two of the country’s largest conglomerates, have a combined market capitalization of over P398 billion, according to the statement.

It added the team-up would merge MPIC’s capability in infrastructure development such as water utilities and electricity distribution and JG Summit’s expertise in real estate, property development and air transportation.

The heads of both companies were pleased with the development. “Integrating both our management expertise, corporate governance adherence and solid track record in developing large-scale infrastructure projects will strengthen the capabilities of the airport in responding to the needs of both passenger and airline customers,” MPIC Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan was quoted in the statement as saying.

JG Summit Chief Operating Officer Lance Y. Gokongwei, for his part, said: ” “Their experience in developing public infrastructure projects and in bidding for the same under the government’s current PPP system, brings great value to this partnership.”

The PPP project covers the construction of a new terminal beside the existing airport, rehabilitation of the existing facility, and the operation and maintenance of the entire airport once it has been expanded.

Aside from MPIC and JG Summit, nine other firms have also bought pre-qualification documents. The project’s prequalification has been set on March 22 while the actual bidding is on Aug. 2.

MPIC is the local unit of Hong Kong’s First Pacific Co. Ltd., which partly owns Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT).

Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a minority stake in BusinessWorld.

PPP Center Press Release
23 November 2012

Present during the contract signing were Project Development and Monitoring Facility Director Rina Alzate (PPP Center), DOTC Assistant Secretary Jaime Raphael Feliciano, and Feedback Infrastructure Services Pvt. Ltd President and CEO / Project Team Leader and PPP Specialist Anil Gandhi.

A long-term solution to the escalating traffic in Metro Manila is now in the works with the signing of a consulting contract between the Public-Private Partnership Center and Feedback Infrastructure Services Pvt. Ltd, the transaction advisor for the Integrated Transport System (ITS) Project of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC).

The DOTC’s transaction advisor will develop a feasibility study on the viability of the ITS project using the PPP scheme under the current BOT law. The study will cover the construction of two terminals located at the south of the city, one terminal serving passengers to and from the Laguna/Batangas side and the other serving those to and from the Cavite side. A third terminal that will serve passengers to and from Northern Luzonwill be separately developed at the North side of EDSA.

The ITS Project will establish three (3) mass transportation terminals that will integrate different modes of transportation, connecting commuters from the provinces to other urban transport systems like the MRT, LRT, buses, taxis and other public utility vehicles plying around Metro Manila.

Approximately 10,000 provincial buses can be accommodated in the three terminals, allowing commuters easier and immediate access to various other modes of transportation plying within Metro Manila and to the different provinces.

The ITS will help decongest EDSA, Metro Manila’s major transport artery, while providing commuters the comfort and safety of state-of-the-art terminals that will house passenger terminal buildings, arrival and departure bays, ticketing and baggage handling facilities, park-ride facilities as well as maintenance areas for the buses.

The DOTC is a recipient of the PPP Center’s Project Development and Monitoring Facility (PDMF). The PDMF is a revolving facility funded by the Philippine government through Executive Order (EO) No. 8 and is supplemented by the Government of Australia under a technical assistance program of the Asian Development Bank, and the Government of Canada. It supports pre-investment activities for critical infrastructure projects, including pre-feasibility studies, feasibility studies, development of PPP options and assistance to government agencies in the bidding process to ensure competitive and transparent project preparation.

Source: Rappler, 6 June 2012

MANILA, Philippines – The Aquino government is on a roll.

Two days after putting the P60-billion Light Rail Transit (LRT) 1 extension project on the auction block, it announced it will now open the bidding process for the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Expressway II, another major infrastructure project under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) program.

PPP Center Executive Director Cosette Canilao told Rappler in a phone interview they may issue the invitation to pre-qualify and bid for NAIA expressway II as early as next week.

“We will start the bidding process within June. Actually, the DPWH’s (Department of Public Ways and Highways) target is to issue the invitation within next week.”

Asked when the actual bidding will take place, Canilao said, “Most probably in November.”

The project was approved by the National Economic and Development Authority on May 30, giving DPWH the green light to bid it out.

“The PPP Center congratulates the DPWH for rolling out one of the country’s mega infrastructure projects under the PPP program of government. This is indeed an achievement for the DPWH and the program itself. We knew that it could work and now we are seeing projects being rolled out. We are confident that we will hit our target of 8 projects for 2012.”

The project involves the maintenance and improvement of the existing NAIA expressway phase I, and the construction of phase II and the extension road leading to Pagcor’s casino and tourism complex on Manila Bay, the Entertainment City.

The total length is 9.37 kilometers, consisting of 7.15 kilometers elevated portion of phases I and II, and 2.22 kilometers road to the Pagcor development.

This is the third big-ticket infrastructure project under PPP that the Aquino government rolled out since it launched the economic program in 2010. The first was the P2-billion Daang Hari-South Luzon Expressway (SLEx) road link that was awarded to the Ayala group. The second was LRT-1 extension to Cavite province.

Canilao said NAIA expressway II will help link and ease traffic going to and from the 3 NAIA terminals in Manila. She said it will also seamlessly link the SLEx-Skyway to the Manila-Cavite Toll Expressway and both Roxas and Macapagal boulevards.

The government had initially listed 10 PPP projects for bidding in 2010.

The contract to operate and manage LRT-1 and another major railway, the Metro Rail Transit 3, was supposed to have been the first to be bid out, but then newly appointed DOTC Secretary Manuel Roxas decided to shelve it to review if it was more beneficial for government to keep it. The government ended up bidding out the Daanghari-SLEx road instead.

Between 2010 and 2012, the government opened the bidding process for two projects that were not originally in the list: the P10-billion classroom building program of the Department of Education, and the P453-million vaccine self-sufficiency project of the Department of Health.

The government is banking on the rollout of the big PPPs to help the economy grow beyond its target of 5% to 6%.

The economy grew 6.4% in the first quarter, much faster than the 3.9% growth registered in 2011. Underspending on infrastructure and weak exports dragged down the growth last year. - Rappler.com

Source: ABS-CBN News Online, 5 June 2012

MANILA, Philippines – The P15.86 billion NAIA Expressway project will be up for bidding this month.

This will be the government’s third public private partnership (PPP) priority project lined up for bidding this year, after the LRT 1 extension and the classroom building projects.

In a statement, PPP Center executive director Cosette V. Canilao  expressed satisfaction with the announcement of the Invitation to Pre-qualify to Bid for the NAIA Expressway project.

“The PPP Center congratulates the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for rolling out one of the country’s mega infrastructure projects under the PPP program of government. This is indeed an achievement for the DPWH and the program itself. We knew that it could work and now we are seeing projects being rolled out. We are confident that we will hit our target of 8 projects for 2012,” Canilao said.

The NAIA Expressway project was approved by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) board last May 30. President Benigno Aquino, who is also the NEDA board chairman, gave the DPWH the go-signal to push through with the bidding of the NAIA Expressway project by June.

The proposed NAIA Expressway project involves the maintenance and improvement of the existing NAIA Expressway Phase I road; construction of Phase 2 of the NAIA Expressway; construction of at-grade feeder roads leading to and from the PAGCOR Entertainment City; operation and maintenance of the completed Phase 1 and Phase 2 as a toll road; and the maintenance of the at-grade feeder road as a free road.

The total length of the NAIA expressway is 9.37 kilometers, including 7.15 kilometer elevated portion of Phase 1 and 2; and the 2.22 kilometers at-grade portion.

The project is expected to ease traffic going to and from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. It will also link the SLEX/Skyway to the Manila-Cavite Toll Expressway and both Roxas and Macapagal Boulevard providing easy access to Entertainment City.

PPP Center Press Release
04 June 2012

The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) and its attached agency,  the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA), released on 4 June 2012 the official invitation to pre-qualify and bid (ITPB) for the P60-billion LRT Line 1-Cavite Extension Project.

Currently serving more than 500,000 commuters daily, the existing 20.7-km LRT Line-1 is now up for an 11.7-km extension and service improvement as private sector participation, efficiency, and expertise are now being tapped under the Aquino administration’s Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Program.

The existing train system, which runs from Roosevelt in Quezon City to Baclaran in Pasay, is set to be extended to Bacoor, Cavite where a large population of about four million people resides. This system upgrade is expected to benefit an additional 500,000 commuters living south of Metro Manila—Parañaque, Las Piñas, and the Province of Cavite—who travel daily to central business districts located in the Metro.

Specifically, the actual project involves five (5) key project components, namely: the operation and maintenance of the existing system; design and overall construction of the Cavite extension facilities (“Cavite Extension System”); integration of the existing and extension systems (“Integrated System”); operation and maintenance of the integrated system; and the system enhancement works covering whole-of-life investments for the integrated system.

The DOTC has engaged the Development Bank of the Philippines and IFC—the private sector arm of the World Bank—as its transaction advisors for this project.

The bidding is open to all interested bidders, whether local or foreign. Pre-bidding documents (i.e. invitation to pre-qualify and bid; and instructions to prospective bidders, including annexes) are available at the DOTC Main Office for distribution to interested parties until 21 August 2012 for a non-refundable fee of PHP50,000, payable in cash or manager’s check issued by a bank in the Philippines made out to the Department of Transportation and Communications.

The LRT Line 1-Cavite Extension Project is the third PPP project to be rolled out, following the successfully-awarded Daang Hari-SLEX Link Road project of the DPWH, and the currently under bidding PPP for School Infrastructure Project of the DepEd. The government is targeting to roll-out at least eight PPP projects in the pipeline this year.

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Source: Philippine Star, 1 June 2012

By Aurea Calica with Iris Gonzales

MANILA, Philippines – The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board has approved for implementation phase 2 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Expressway project and the National Sewerage and Septage Management Program that are worth more than P42 billion, Malacañang announced yesterday.

The NEDA Board, chaired by President Aquino, met on Wednesday in Malacañang to discuss eight projects but the board approved only two.

The expressway project would cost P15.8 billion while the sewerage and septage program, still in pilot phase, is worth P26.3 billion.

Two weeks ago, the Investment Coordination Committee-Cabinet Committee (ICC CabCom) of the NEDA Board approved five projects on transportation, infrastructure and health worth P32.67 billion aimed at building and rehabilitating vital infrastructure such as roads, bridges and hospitals.

The NEDA Board is the country’s highest development planning and policy coordinating body. The board is comprised of various Cabinet secretaries, the president of the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines, the governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and the deputy governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

The ICC, one of the interagency committees of the NEDA Board, evaluates the fiscal, monetary and balance-of-payments implications of major national projects.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the sewerage and septage project would be a co-financing or a co-sharing project with the local government units.

She said the President had some questions and wanted more documentation on the other projects.

Valte said the bidding for the projects were on track and could be started as soon as approved.

At least 10 national government projects worth P56.79 billion were set be confirmed at the NEDA meeting on Wednesday.

On the list are three bridge projects, three public-private partnership (PPP) projects, two agriculture-related projects, a railway project that will be funded by the government and a project that is set to receive a grant from the US government.

The three bridge projects are the P6.12-billion Bridge Construction Acceleration Project for Calamity-Stricken Areas Phase II to be funded by the Austrian government; the P8.4-billion National Roads Bridge Placement Project funded by the United Kingdom; and the P3.19-billion Spanish-Assisted Bridge Construction-Replacement Project.

The three PPP projects, meanwhile, are the P453-million Vaccine Self-Sufficiency Project Phase II; the P5-billion NAIA Expressway project (Phase II); and the P15.77-billion Philippine Orthopedic Center.

The two agriculture-related projects are the P2.7-billion Upgrading and Rehabilitation Project of the Navotas Fish Port Complex and the $123.96-million (P5.4-billion) Mindanao Rural Development Program.

Other projects that may be included are the P9.76-billion Light Railway Transit Line 2 East Extension Project and a project that is set to receive a grant from the United States Agency for International Development. Socioeconomic Planning

Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said with the approval of the project, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), the agency tasked to implement the project, is now ready to bid out the service contract of the 5.2-kilometer road.

“It has been approved by the NEDA Board so they (DPWH) can now proceed with the bidding,” Balisacan told reporters during yesterday’s press briefing on the National Income Accounts.

The NAIA project is a four-lane elevated expressway, which will start from Sales Street going to Andrews Avenue, Domestic Road and which will end at Roxas Boulevard.

The DPWH said the expressway would also include the construction of a toll plaza and five on and off ramps.

According to the original schedule, the detailed design and construction of the project will run from this year to 2015.

Valte said the expressway would provide connectivity to airport terminals 1, 2 and 3.

Balisacan said there are other infrastructure projects that were discussed during the meeting but were not approved yet because of some details that still need to be threshed out.

He said the NEDA Board is planning to meet regularly to be able to approve more projects and at a faster pace.

“We expect to meet more regularly so these things will move faster,” said Balisacan, who took over the socioeconomic portfolio after Cayetano Paderanga Jr. resigned early this month for health reasons.

The Aquino administration hopes to have at least 22 infrastructure projects under the government’s PPP program processed by the end of 2012, the new NEDA chief said.

“These projects are intended to improve transportation connectivity, boost agricultural productivity, increase water service areas and raise the quality of education and health,” Balisacan said. – With Iris Gonzales