San Miguel ready to join MRT-3 rehab bid
SAN MIGUEL Corp. (SMC) is open to submitting a proposal to rehabilitate the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) should the government decide to pursue that plan.
“If the government bids it out, we are willing to participate in any kind of project,” Ramon S. Ang, president and CEO of San Miguel Corporation, told reporters in a chance interview when asked if the conglomerate has plans to submit a proposal to rehabilitate the MRT-3.
“We expressed our interest long ago, but if the government’s pronouncement is that they’re willing to do that, then, we will do it,” Mr. Ang added.
The MRT-3 runs from North Ave. station in Quezon City to Taft station in Pasay. The most congested rail system has deteriorated over the years and experienced a series of breakdowns and service interruptions with more than a hundred unloading incidents recorded since the start of the year, according to data from the Department of Transportation (DoTr). Last year, there were 586 unloading incidents.
San Miguel could also submit an unsolicited proposal for the MRT-3 upgrade.
“If the government agrees, we can submit. But project studies are expensive,” Mr. Ang said.
SMC is currently implementing the MRT-7 project with contractor Hyundai ROTEM and the EEI Consortium. The upcoming train line will connect with MRT-3 from North Avenue with a provision to link to Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1) covering Roosevelt station in Quezon City to Baclaran station in Pasay City.
The project involves the financing, design, construction, operation and maintenance of the 23-kilometer elevated railway line with 14 stations from San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan to MRT-3 North Avenue in Quezon City; as well as a 22-kilometer asphalt road from the Bocaue Interchange of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx) to the intermodal terminal in Tala in Caloocan City.
Mr. Ang said San Miguel could also partner with other conglomerates to pursue the MRT3 rehabilitation should it decide to pursue the project.
“[ We’re open to partner with other conglomerates]. We can work with anybody, we are close with MPIC (Metro Pacific Investments Corp.), we are very close to the Zobels, we are very close to Mr. [Henry T.] Sy of Shoemart, we are very close to everybody and we intend to work with everybody,” SMC’s Mr. Ang said.
Manuel V. Pangilinan’s MPIC earlier said it is planning to revive its proposal to rehabilitate the MRT-3 citing the “urgency” of improving the commuter rail line. Its first proposal failed to advance because this entailed raising fares. The infrastructure conglomerate — which first submitted a $500 million proposal for the upgrade in 2011 — is looking to submit its own proposal to the government within the year.
Last year, MRT-3 had 10.27 million passengers, up from the 9.85 million passengers recorded in 2015. The train line had an average of 409,000 passengers daily as of end-December.
The DoTr has earlier warned the current maintenance provider of MRT-3, Busan Universal Rail, Inc. (BURI) that it may partially terminate the contracts for signaling and general overhaul of the train system due to service disruptions but BURI said the maintenance contract should not be terminated as it argued the MRT-3’s glitches are due to the railway’s current condition.
At present, Metro Manila is served by three commuter rail lines: LRT-1, LRT-2 which covers Santolan station in Pasig City to Recto station in Manila, and MRT-3.
MPIC is one of three Philippine units of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) and Philex Mining Corp. Hastings Holdings, Inc. — a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc. — maintains an interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls.