THE INDONESIA-BASED Citra group is keen on undertaking new infrastructure projects in the Philippines and other Asian countries as it recently moved to consolidate its shareholdings to support its expansion plans.
One of the firm’s subsidiaries, P.T. Citra Persada Infrastruktur (CPI) — which is part of the group that built the Skyway, and CLGP Philippine Holdings, Inc. — has submitted to the Duterte government early this year, a P50-billion proposal for a 17.7-kilometer Manila-Taguig Expressway.
The project is now being evaluated by the Department of Public Works and Highways.
“With a strong capital structure, the new PT Citra Marga Nuphasala Persada Tbk (CMNP) consortium is poised to undertake new infrastructure projects not only in Indonesia and the Philippines but in other Asian countries as well,” Citra said in a statement.
It earlier announced that Padma Funds of the Citra Group, has consolidated 76.5% of its shareholdings in CMNP under one consortium to support its strategic business move to expand toll assets and other infrastructure-related businesses.
CMNP is a leading publicly-listed toll road and infrastructure company in Indonesia. In the Philippines, the Citra Group conceptualized the Metro Manila Skyway Project (MMSP) stages 1, 2 and 3, and the Metro Manila Expressway or C6 in partnership with the government-owned Philippine National Construction Corp. in 1993.
Padma Funds is the partner of San Miguel Holdings, Inc. in Atlantic Aurum Investment Ltd. B.V. (AAI), which conceptualized the integration of the toll road concessions south of Luzon. Currently, it includes the concessions for MMSP Stage 1 and 2, MMSP Stage 3, and South Luzon Expressway under Citra Metro Manila Tollway Corp., Citra Central Expressway Corp. and South Luzon Tollway Corp., respectively
“The proposed Manila-Taguig Expressway is solely a Citra project,” the firm said.
The proposal would rise “mostly along the Pasig River” and would connect Rizal province through Pasig, Makati and Manila. Its central feature was to link San Miguel Corp.’s Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3, a North Luzon Expressway and South Luzon Expressway “connector road” which was due for completion by 2017 or 2018, and the Metro Manila Expressway C-6.
The unsolicited tollroad project was proposed to help ease road congestion in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.
Several unsolicited proposals were submitted to the government since President Rodrigo R. Duterte announced that his administration would be open to unsolicited bids.
An unsolicited proposal is made to the government by a private company willing to undertake a project, thus it is private-sector led instead of a response to a request from the government. The original proponent of a project gets the advantage in such case under a Swiss challenge — the course the government takes when dealing with unsolicited proposals, which requires an invitation to make competing offers while giving the original proponent the right to match them.
10 February 2017
By Imee Charlee C. Delavin
