Sumitomo acquires stake in MPIC railway unit

METRO Pacific Investments Corp. ( MPIC) has welcomed Japan’s Sumitomo Corp. as a strategic partner in its railway business.

In a disclosure on Friday, MPIC said Sumitomo purchased a 34.9- percent stake in that business, which has an effective 55- percent stake in the Light Rail Manila Corp. ( LRMC).

LRMC — a joint venture between Metro Pacific Light Rail Corp., AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp. and Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings — secured a 32- year concession to operate and maintain the Light Rail Transit Line 1 ( LRT- 1).

LRT- 1 currently has 20 stations, serving about 500,000 commuters daily.

LRMC also clinched the deal to construct the 11.7- kilometer Cavite extension project, where it could increase passenger traffic to 800,000 a day and cut travel time between Baclaran in Parañaque City and Bacoor City in Cavite province from one to two hours to 25 minutes once it becomes operational in 2022.

“MPIC welcomes Sumitomo as a strategic stakeholder in the LRT- 1 project, along with its current partners AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp. and Macquarie Investments Holdings ( Philippines) Ltd.,” MPIC Chairman Manuel Pangilinan was quoted as saying in the filing.

“This investment by Sumitomo is a welcome illustration in their belief in the future of this project. We are all eager to resume operations of LRT- 1 when the current extended quarantine is released,” he added.

Eita Fujikawa, Sumitomo’s general manager for transportation systems and infrastructure business department, said the groups behind the LRMC could bank on his company’s 100- year expertise on rail infrastructure development.

“We are confident that our investment and expertise will provide the support the expanding Manila public transit infrastructure needs to grow, and to bring local communities even closer through the Cavite extension [ project],” Fujikawa said.

MPIC shares grew by 6 centavos or 2.12 percent to close at P2.89 apiece on Friday.