25 October 2012, Business Times (Malaysia)
by Kamarul Yunus
ALLOYMTD Group has submitted pre-qualification documents for a US$1.4 billion (RM4.2 billion) public-private partnership (PPP) project to expand and operate Metro Manila’s Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line-1.
The Malaysian company had teamed up with South Korea’s Samsung C&T Corp to bid for the job.
The consortium were among four groups shortlisted to submit their pre-qualification bids this month.
Three other groups are the Light Rail Manila consortium, San Miguel Infra Corp and DMCI Holdings Inc.
It was learnt that the actual bidding is scheduled for the first quarter of 2013, with the contract likely to be awarded in the second quarter.
AlloyMTD chairman and chief executive officer Datuk Azmil Khalid said the company’s bid for the LRT extension project shows its commitment to investing in the Philippines.
“This is also in line with our Prime Minister’s (Datuk Seri Najib Razak) call for more Malaysian investments in the Philippines,” he told Business Times.
Formerly known as MTD Capital Bhd, AlloyMTD has been aggressively exploring business opportunities in the Philippines, especially after getting the contract to redevelop and operate the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX). The company has since disposed of its stake in SLEX.
Apart from the LRT project, AlloyMTD is also eyeing opportunities in highways and construction of power plants there.
For the LRT extension project, AlloyMTD, through subsidiary MTD Capital, holds a 33 per cent stake in the consortium, while Samsung C&T owns a 20 per cent stake, Union Equities Inc (15 per cent), DM Wenceslao & Associates (12 per cent), and Primewater Infra Corp (20 per cent).
According to news reports, the infrastructure for the project will be handled by MTD Capital and Samsung C&T, while the system will be provided by Hyundai Rotern Co. The operation and management will be handled by Seoul Metro.
The MTD-Samsung consortium is the only non-Filipino group shortlisted for the bidding.
The project is the Philippines government’s fourth PPP venture since the programme was announced in November 2010.
