IRC Properties Inc., previously a real-estate company, is pivoting into infrastructure and mass transport, after the company was able to bag original proponent status of its Makati intra-rail project.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the firm said its board approved the change of name of IRC to Philippine Infradev Holdings Inc.
IRC explained that Philippine Infradev will be the parent firm and will be a holding company to engage in infrastructure and real-estate development.
On Wednesday IRC and its international consortium partners were granted “original proponent status” for its proposed $3.7-billion Makati intracity rail-transport system.
Its partners for the project are mostly Chinese firms, such as Greenland Holdings Group, Jiangsu Provincial Construction Group Co. Ltd., Holdings Ltd., Kwan On Holdings Ltd., Shanghai MinTu Investment Holdings and China Harbour Engineering Co. Ltd.
The IRC board also approved the change of name of wholly owned subsidiary Interport Development Corp. to Greater East Metro Development Corp. There will also be a change in directors and officers and increase in capitalization of IDC.
IRC was formerly called Interport Resources Corp., incorporated on February 24, 1975. It initially ventured in oil-exploration activities and drilled two wells in Southern Mindoro and the Sulu Sea areas in the 1970s before it cut down on exploration activities.
In 2013 the company changed its name to the present with its primary purpose to primarily acquire and sell real estate of all kinds or hold such properties for investment purposes.
It claims to own substantial landholdings in Binangonan, Rizal, and is engaged in mass-housing projects together with various property developers.
“The reactivated subsidiary Greater East will continue to expand the economic housing segment to help address the country’s housing shortage,” the company said.
The IRC board, likewise, authorized the incorporation of another wholly owned company to do mass-transportation projects, such as transportation, subway, ferry and bus, to be named Alternative Metro Transport System Inc. (AMTSI).
AMTSI aims to provide alternative solutions to decongest Metro Manila by developing or operating ferry, subway and electric vehicles providing green alternatives to Filipino commuters.
The IRC board also authorized its EVP Georgina Monsod to sign a letter of intent addressed to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority for the rehabilitation and modernization of the Pasig River ferry service. Â