Philippine Infradev Holdings Inc., formerly IRC Properties Inc., said it tapped China Civil Engineering Construction Corp. to build the $3.7-billion Makati intra-city rail transport system.
Philippine Infradev said in a disclosure to the stock exchange that under the memorandum of agreement signed by both parties, CCECC was investing $300 million to $350 million into the company or a subsidiary that would undertake the engineering, procurement and construction works for the Makati subway project.
CCECC will also provide the performance guarantee for the completion of the project that will be subject to the completion of a financial, legal and technical due diligence.
“The parties are aiming for 31 May 2019 to complete the entire due diligence process prior to the formalization of the structure of CCECC’s investment and execution of the formal investment agreement,” Philippine Infradev said.
CCECC is a 100-percent owned subsidiary of China Railway Construction Corp. Ltd.
The project involves the construction of an 11-kilometer intra-city mass transport system with up to 10 stations that will connect key points in Makati’s two districts, with no cash out from the city government.
The railways is expected to accommodate up to 700,000 passengers per day aboard six car trains with a capacity of about 200 people each.
Philippine Infradev said the project was aligned with the national government’s aggressive infrastructure program and Makati’s goal to be a digital city.
It will also complement mass transport projects of the national government as it would be interconnected to the Metro Rail Transit Line 3, the proposed Metro Manila Mega Subway and the Pasig River ferry.
Philippine Infradev said to support the big-ticket project, it obtained shareholders approval to increase its authorized capital to P10.5 billion from P1.5 billion.
IRC and Chinese partners Greenland Holdings Group, Jiangsu Provincial Construction Group Co. Ltd., Holdings Ltd. and China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd. are the original proponents of the project.
After obtaining approval from the National Economic and Development Corp., the proposal was subject to a Swiss Challenge. No competing bids were submitted during the Swiss Challenge period.
The project is slated for completion by 2025.