LISTED firm IRC Properties Inc. on Wednesday said the company and its international consortium partners were granted an original proponent status for its proposed $3.7-billion Makati intra-city rail-transport system.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, IRC said its proposal to establish and operate the Makati Mass Transport System has been accepted by the city government for purposes of detailed negotiations on the technical and financial aspects of the project. Under its proposal, the IRC consortium will build an 11-kilometer intracity subway system with eight to 10 stations connecting key points in Makati’s two districts with no cash-out on the part of the city.
The proposed subway will complement the mass-transport projects of the national government as it will interconnect with the Metro Rail Transit System, the proposed Metro Manila Mega Subway and the Pasig River ferry. With a daytime population reaching 4.5 million, the project seeks to alleviate traffic coming into, leaving and within Makati City.
“IRC’s proposal is aligned with the national government’s aggressive infrastructure program, as well as Makati’s goal to be a digital city. Not only will it move people quicker; it will allow people to be more productive and spend more time with their families.
The project will also create thousands of jobs and reduce the carbon footprint due to lesser cars on the streets,” IRC EVP Georgina Monsod said.
IRC recently applied to increase its authorized capital to P10.5 billion from P1.5 billion.
In undertaking the project, the companies that indicated their intention to be part of the IRC consortium include Greenland Holdings Group, Jiangsu Provincial Construction Group Co. Ltd., Kwan On Holdings Ltd., Shanghai MinTu Investment Holdings and China Harbour Engineering Co. Ltd.
Greenland is a publicly listed real-estate firm and part of the Shanghai Stock blue chip index. It is a major investor in major projects like the Metropolis Los Angeles in California, USA, the Spire London in London, UK, the Greenland Centre Sydney in Australia, and the Atlantic Yards in New York.
Jiangsu Provincial is a construction company founded in 1956 and is one of the pioneers in China’s construction and installation industry. Together with Greenland, Jiangsu owns and operates Nanjing subway line 5 which also followed the PPP or Public Private Partnership model.
Kwan On Holdings Ltd. is listed in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The company is engaged in construction and maintenance works on civil engineering contracts.
Shanghai MinTu is an investment holding group focusing on infrastructure, mass transportation, and financial services, while China Harbour constructed a portion of the Malaysian rail system that included subways and the Hong Kong-Macau-Zhuhai bridge.It is also a contractor of the Hong Kong MTR.