MEGAWIDE Construction Corp. is considering another railway project, banking on the government’s approval of the East-West Rail Project (EWRP).
“We’ll wait for the EWRP. If they approve that, then we can expand for the second time… another alignment,” Megawide President Edgar B. Saavedra told reporters on the sidelines of the South West Integrated Terminal Exchange (SWITX) inspection on Nov. 22.
Mr. Saavedra did not give details on the planned rail project.
The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA)-Investment Coordination Committee (ICC) is currently studying the EWRP, a mostly elevated 9.4-kilometer railway line from Diliman in Quezon City to Lerma in Manila.
“We’re still waiting for NEDA to approve. Hopefully… they can approve within the year,” Mr. Saavedra said.
Megawide announced in July it acquired a stake in the consortium composed of East-West Rail Transit Corporation and Alloy MTD, giving it the right to participate in the Philippine National Railways’ (PNR) rail project.
The EWRP involves the financing, design, construction, operation, and maintenance of the East-West Rail, which will have 11 stations and connecting facilities to other rail systems.
Megawide is continuing to diversify, particularly in transportation infrastructure, where it can use its engineering expertise and experience with the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA).
The joint venture of Megawide and Bangalore-based airport operator GMR Infrastructure Ltd. in 2014 won the contract for the P17.52-billion MCIA Passenger Terminal Building project under the public-private partnership (PPP) program.
In June this year, the GMR-Megawide consortium submitted a P208-billion unsolicited proposal for the 50-year long-term development of MCIA. Its initial contract did not include the improvement, operations, and maintenance of the runway and other related facilities, which to date remain with the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA).
Megawide is also the private partner for the SWITX, an intermodal transport terminal intended to provide connectivity for commuters in the southern parts of Metro Manila.
Other PPP projects awarded to Megawide include the modernization of Philippine Orthopedic Center together with World Citi; and the school infrastructure project phase I and II.
Megawide’s nine-month attributable profit to P1.38 billion, up 6% year on year, on the back of a 4% increase in revenues to P14.26 billion.
With this, Megawide said its bottom line is expected to reach over P2 billion for the full year. In 2016, Megawide’s consolidated profit stood at P1.92 billion. — Patrizia Paola C. Marcelo
