Aboitiz InfraCapital Inc., the infrastructure arm of the Aboitiz Group, said Monday it allocated P24 billion this year for tower acquisition and development of economic estates.
“We have allocated around P24 billion for the expansion of our economic estates. We have ongoing expansion in West Cebu Estate as well as in Lima, that one will be finished this year. At the same time, some industrial expansion also in Lima will also be finished this year,” AIC president and chief executive Cosette Canilao said during the company’s virtual press briefing.
West Cebu Estate is a 540-hectare mixed-use development in Balamban, Cebu, while LIMA Estate is a 794-hectare Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA)-registered development with over 60,000 employees.
It is one of the largest privately-owned industrial parks in the Philippines.
“For Unity Digital, we’re hoping to close the acquisition of the towers from Smart and Globe within the first half of this year. And then we’ve allocated some capex as well for the regional airports,” Canilao said.
“Unity Digital is really focused on completing the turnover of towers from Smart and Globe. But having said that, we’ve always been on the lookout, you know acquiring towers that are strategic to what we have right now. Strategic in terms of colocation potentials and at the same time strategic with respect to where most of our towers are located,” she said.
Globe transferred 282 of the 447 tiers to be acquired by Unity Digital Infrastructure (Unity), a partnership between AIC and Partners Group in February.
AIC secured the original proponent status for the upgrade, expansion, operations and maintenance of the Laguindingan International Airport, which is undergoing Swiss Challenge.
The project aims to enhance connectivity to the Northern Mindanao region, which includes the five provinces of Misamis Oriental, Misamis Occidental, Lanao del Norte, Bukidnon and Camiguin, along with the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan.
It seeks to define an aviation strategy for new airlines and connections including the development of international flights, expand airport capacity according to market demand, introduce sustainable concept and enhance passenger experience through operational and environmental improvements.