Posted on
March 06, 2013 10:13:19 PM [ BusinessWorld Online ]
BUILDER Megawide
Construction Corp. plans to team up with Indian airport developer GMR
Infrastructure Ltd. in the bidding for the Mactan-Cebu International Airport
(MCIA) development and rehabilitation public-private partnership (PPP) plan
should the local company bag the project contract, Megawide said in a
disclosure yesterday.
“In line with
our disclosures on Megawide’s plan to engage in infrastructure projects dated
June 15, 2011 and July 4, 2011, Megawide, together with GMR Infrastructure
Ltd., a leading infrastructure and airport developer from India, will
participate in the bidding for the MCIA project,” the disclosure read.
GMR
Infrastructure is the infrastructure holding company of GMR Group based in
Bangalore, India.
Together with
Megawide, it was one of 11 firms that bought bid documents for the MCIA
project.
JOINT VENTURE
However,
Megawide will only push through with its partnership with GMR Infrastructure
when it is awarded the airport project contract.
“Megawide
signed an understanding with GMR to form a joint venture once the project is
awarded,” the same disclosure showed.
When asked to
elaborate on the company’s disclosure, Megawide Vice-President for Marketing
and Chief Information Officer Louie B. Ferrer said in a text message: “We will
only form the joint venture once we (Megawide) get the project. Now it’s just
an MoU (memorandum of understanding).”
The
P17.5-billion MCIA project, which involves the construction of a new passenger
terminal building and the operation and maintenance of the old and new
facilities, is one of the government’s PPP projects to be implemented by the
Department of Transportation and Communications.
The project
is currently for submission to the National Economic and Development Authority,
according to the state-run PPP Center’s Web site.
Pre-qualification
of bidders for the project has been set for March 22 while the auction is
scheduled for Aug. 2.
Nine other
firms purchased bid documents for the project including: Metro Pacific
Investments Corp. (MPIC); JG Summit Holdings, Inc.; First Philippine Holdings
Corp.; SM Investments Corp.; San Miguel Corp.; Aboitiz Land, Inc.; Filinvest
Development Corp.; MacroAsia Corp.; and Prime Power Holdings Corp.
OTHER
PARTNERSHIPS
Two other
partnerships have already been formed for the bidding: the joint venture
between AboitizLand and Ayala, as well as the one between MPIC of Manuel V.
Pangilinan and Gokongwei-led JG Summit.
Megawide was
incorporated in 2004, and is primarily engaged in site development, earthworks,
structural and civil works, masonry works, architectural finishes, electrical
works, plumbing and sanitary works, fire protection works, and mechanical
works.
It holds an
AAA construction license issued by the Philippine Contractors Accreditation
Board, making the firm eligible to participate in big-ticket private
infrastructure projects, according to the company’s Web site.
In October
last year, Megawide -- in partnership with Citicore Holdings Investment, Inc.
-- won one of the two contracts for the PPP for the School Infrastructure
Project (PSIP) being implemented by the Education department.
The PSIP is
the second PPP project to be successfully rolled out by the government after
the $46.6-million Daang Hari-South Luzon Expressway Link Road Project which
Ayala Corp. will undertake under a build-transfer-operate scheme.
The other
winning bidder for the PSIP contract was BF Corp.-Riverbanks Development Corp.
consortium, which will be building in the Ilocos region.
SCHOOL
PROJECT
The
P16.42-billion PSIP involves the construction in 10 years of around 9,300 one-
and two-storey public school classrooms -- including furniture and fixtures --
in various sites in regions I (Ilocos Region), III, and IV-A via
build-lease-transfer method, the PPP Center said.
Megawide
boosted its nine-month net profit as of September last year by 77.36% to
P633.50 million from P357.18 million in year-ago levels due to higher contract
revenues booked in the period.
“The increase
in contract revenues and its corresponding costs is mainly due to the following
new projects: Linear, Studio City and Studio Zen of Filinvest Land, Inc. and
Jazz Phase 2 and Grass Tower 2 of SM Development Corp.,” Megawide said in its
end-September 2012 financial report to corporate regulators.
The company’s
contract revenues climbed by 23.57% to P5.61 billion versus P4.54 billion in
the same period in 2011, while its contract costs rose by 20.88% to P4.69
billion from P3.88 billion in 2011, the same report showed.
Megawide
shares were traded at P17.96 each yesterday, unchanged from last Tuesday’s
close. -- Franz Jonathan G. de la Fuente
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