The infrastructure arm of conglomerate Ayala Corp. is looking at potential partners in Europe and Asia to participate in the public-private partnership projects.
“We will continue to look at PPP on a selective basis. You’ve already seen us not participating in several PPP projects,” AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp. president and chief executive Eric Francia said.
Francia said the company was looking at the P171-billion North-South Railway Project (South Line), P65-billion Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 6 and P74.56-billion Ninoy Aquino International Airport Development Project.
“Those are what we are looking at and study and depends on what the priority of the next administration,” he said.
Francia, when asked about potential partners, said “ Europeans and Asians are very active.”
AC Infrastructure allocated $200 million to $250 million for PPP projects five years ago.
AC Infrastructure won the bidding for the P2.01-billion Daang Hari-South Luzon Expressway Link Project, the P65-billion LRT Line 1 Cavite Extension and P1.72-billion Automatic Fare Collection System in partnership with Metro Pacific Investments Corp.
Francia said the Light Rail Manila Corp. would spend $150 million to $200 million, or P10 billion, to rehabilitate and upgrade the rolling stocks, railway stocks, train stations and signaling system of LRT Line 1.
LRMC took over the operation and maintain of LRT Line 1 on Sept. 12, 2015. It currently accommodates a daily average of 400,000 commuters from Baclaran in Pasay City to Roosevelt in Quezon City.
Francia said the consortium expected to sign the financing package for the P65-billion LRT Line 1 Cavite extension project and upgrade of the existing LRT Line 1 system in the first quarter of the year.
The project cost is over P40 billion, which would include the rehabilitation of the LRT Line 1and the extension of the system to Cavite.
LRMC is responsible for the construction of the 11.7-kilometer extension from the present end point in Baclaran to the Niog area in Bacoor, Cavite.
The extended rail line is expected to help increase the capacity of LRT 1 from 500,000 to 800,000 passengers daily and benefit more than four million residents in the southern part of Metro Manila and Cavite.
LRMC won the P65-billion LRT Line 1 extension project, with a premium bid of P9.35 billion in September 2014.
Metro Pacific Light Rail Corp. controls 55 percent of the consortium while AC Infrastructure has 35 percent. Philippine Investment Alliance for Infrastructure’s Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings (Philippines) Pte. Ltd. owns 10 percent.