Megawide Construction Corp. on Monday said it has reallocated initial funding intended for the rehabilitation of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) to the development of land ports across the country.
In a disclosure, the company said the P1.2-billion initial allotment for the supposed P109-billion total budget to improve the infrastructure of NAIA, which previous to the pandemic has been accepting more people than its capacity, will be reallocated instead to the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange lot 2 development and development of landport in Cebu.
The said fund was part of the P4.4-billion issuance of series 2 preferred shares it conducted last year. Megawide and its Indian partner, GMR Infrastructure Ltd., failed to bag their bid to rehabilitate NAIA after regulator Manila International Airport Authority revoked its original proponent status to carry out a priority project of the government.
Megawide initially had the priority status after the so-called super consortium, composed of 7 of the country’s largest conglomerates, decided to back out on the deal in July last year and said the government turned down most of its rehabilitation options, leaving the company with no choice but to walk away from the deal.
“Our proof of concept and actual operational track record for the PITX landport has led to new expansion opportunities,” Edgar Saavedra, Megawide chairman and CEO, said.
“Activities over the last six months in this space have been very encouraging and the company has been in advanced discussions with representative parties in several areas identified as potential landport locations. We are hopeful that these will be finalized before the end of the year to scale up our company’s existing transport-oriented development infrastructure.”
For the Cebu Integrated Transport Hub Project, the company has signed a joint venture agreement with the Cebu City on January 12 for a 50-year concession to redevelop and operate the Carbon Market. As such, the project will require pre-development and logistical expenses in line with its five-year development timetable, which aims to further accelerate economic growth and development in Cebu.
Megawide is also increasing the capacity of its ancillary business units under its engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) platform to complement is pre-cast technology.
The company believes that the government’s rollout of major infrastructure projects, like the Malolos-Clark Railway Project, the North-South Commuter Rail Project-South Line and the Subway System Project, opened up opportunities and will be the driving force for its infrastructure pivot.
“In addition to the company’s EPC business unit, these projects will likewise require huge support from its precast business unit and other ancillary services, which include the batching plant, modern formworks, specialized equipment and transport logistics, among others, to leverage on the company’s vertically-integrated construction advantage,” Saavedra said.