LISTED construction firm EEI Corp. said it is expecting to set aside a significant capital expenditure (capex) budget next year as it is forecasting a surge in infrastructure work, according to its top official.
“We have a budget but honestly, we were still reviewing it. We’re going to be strong in the coming year because we’re anticipating a lot of infrastructure work, which means, we need to buy equipment or rent equipment,” EEI President Henry D. Antonio said on the sidelines of a thanksgiving event in Makati City last week.
“Renting equipment is very expensive so we have to weigh those things, and then more than likely, in fact, I went to China to negotiate the number contracts with the equipment provider. So we will be doing a significant amount of capex next year just even for that,” he added.
However, Mr. Antonio did not provide specific figures on the company’s capex budget for next year.
Recently, EEI announced that it would spend P580 million annually to provide free food for its onsite and office workers starting Jan. 1 next year.
Mr. Antonio said the initiative is part of the company’s “wholistic approach” to help employees, especially those working at the construction sites.
EEI’s associates are Saudi Arabia-based Al-Rushaid Construction Co. Ltd., PetroSolar Corp., Rice Integrated Commercial Enterprises, Inc. Its joint ventures are PetroWind Energy, Inc., Shinbayanihan Heavy Equipment Corp., and BEO Distribution and Marketing Corp. It also has Shimizu-Fujita-Takenaka-EEI and Acciona-EEI joint ventures.
Shares of EEI were last traded on Dec. 7 at P5.75 apiece. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
