Metro Pacific Investments Corp. is open to a partnership with San Miguel Corp. to jointly pursue infrastructure projects under the Durterte administration, a top executive said Wednesday.
“As to infrastructure in general, yes, we are open to that. There has been some conversation in that respect but nothing definite as we speak, except for the power plants,” Metro Pacific chairman Manuel Pangilinan said.
Pangilinan’s statement came after San Miguel president Ramon Ang said he was in advanced stage of negotiations with the MPIC group for possible joint venture in the development of a $10-billion international airport.
San Miguel in 2014 proposed to build a $10-billion modern international airport on a 1,600-hectare reclamation site along Manila Bay over a period of five to seven years.
The planned airport project will have four runways capable of handling 150 million passengers annually and can accommodate 250 takeoffs and landings per hour, up from Ninoy Aquino International Airport’s current capacity of 40 takeoffs and landings per hour.
The Transportation Department, however, opted to look for alternative sites for the new international gateway.
Aside from the airport project, San Miguel was also in talks with Pangilinan’s group for other big-ticket projects the new government planned to bid out, including tollways and railway projects.
MPIC has interest in power, tollways, rail, water distribution and hospital businesses.
Pangilinan said Manila Electric Co., where Metro Pacific has substantial investments, earlier made an offer to invest in two power plants owned by San Miguel.
“The first step I believe, because we gave off-take agreements to two of his plants. So, Meralco has proposed that we invest in those plants and I think Ramon [Ang] is open to such an investment by Meralco,” he said.
Meralco earlier signed deals with San Miguel-led power plant operators, including Central Luzon Premiere Power Corp. and Mariveles Power Generation Corp.
The power distributor will purchase up to 528 megawatt of capacity from both power plants under the agreement.
Metro Pacific also formed a strategic alliance with GT Capital Holdings Inc. of tycoon George Ty last month by swapping shares and acquiring a majority stake in the latter’s power generation unit.
Metro Pacific’s associate, Beacon Electric Asset Holdings Inc., through wholly-owned subsidiary Beacon PowerGen Holdings Inc., signed an agreement with GT Capital to acquire 56 percent of Global Business Power Corp. for P22.6 billion.
Pangilinan said the investment in Global Power was a part of the company’s drive to accelerate the pace of overall participation in the power generation sector, while allowing Meralco to focus on servicing its Luzon customers.
Global Power is the leading power supplier in Visayas with an aggregate 852 megawatts of coal- and diesel-powered generating capacity, including 150 MW that will start operations later this year.