Source: Business World, 15 January 2012

 

LISTED BUILDER Megawide Construction Corp. plans to join auctions for priority public infrastructure projects and has applied for appropriate accreditation, a senior executive said.

The firm, a major contractor of the SM group, has applied for accreditation with the Construction Industry Authority of the Philippines (CIAP) to qualify for public-private partnership (PPP) projects, Louie B. Ferrer, Megawide vice-president for marketing and chief information officer, said in a recent phone interview.
“We are not yet accredited [for government projects], but we are working on it already. Application is ongoing and we expect it to be ready within the month,” he said.

CIAP, formed in 1980, is tasked to promote, accelerate, and regulate the local construction industry, the agency’s Web site showed.

Megawide currently holds an AAA construction license from the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board (PCAB), making the firm eligible to undertake big-ticket infrastructure projects for private sector clients.

However, the company has yet to secure accreditation from PCAB that is needed for it to bid for government projects with contracts costing more than P300 million, according to the agency’s Web site.

“[Accreditation] is a requirement for government projects, so it is important to be a member [sic] for our planned projects,” Mr. Ferrer noted.

In the meantime, Megawide has forged a consultancy agreement with Japan-based IHI Infrastructure Systems Co. Ltd. ahead of its planned participation in PPP projects.

Notable projects in the pipeline include NAIA (Ninoy Aquino International Airport) Expressway that will link the Skyway to the Manila-Cavite Coastal Expressway, the CALA (Cavite-Laguna) Expressway, as well as the LRT (Light Rail Transit) Cavite and East line extensions, according to information posted on the PPP Center Web site.

Mr. Ferrer said on Monday last week that the company was studying whether it would bid for contracts for the 10.4-billion PPP for School Infrastructure Project.

That project involves separate contracts for designing, financing, construction and maintenance of one- and two-storey buildings in Ilocos, Central Luzon and Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal-Quezon (CALABARZON) regions.

Megawide also expects to complete its P1-billion pre-cast concrete manufacturing facility in Taytay, Rizal in the first or second quarter.

Completion of the company’s new factory is expected to enable it to produce at least five million square meters of wall and foundation materials, the firm had said.

The firm has also said it is interested in construction contracts for offices and mass housing.

Megawide had reported its net income rose 45.71% to P357.18 million in the nine months to September 2011 from the P245.84 million booked the previous year.

Megawide shares slipped 0.21% or two centavos to P9.48 on Friday from the P9.50 closing price the previous day. — FJGDLF