By Denise A. Valdez, Reporter

BUSINESSMAN Antonio L. Tiu is seeking to build a tramway in Manila City, as his Greenergy Holdings, Inc. submitted an unsolicited proposal to the local government.

The listed firm told the stock exchange yesterday it has given an unsolicited offer to the Manila City local government “for the financing, development, implementation and operation of a modern tramway system within the City of Manila.”

In a text message to BusinessWorld, Mr. Tiu said the project is sought to be a joint venture (JV) with the local government of Manila and will be pursued with foreign partners. He said other details are “to follow.”

This is similar to the setup for the $3.5-billion Makati City Subway Project. Mr. Tiu’s other company, Philippine Infradev Holdings, Inc., is developing the subway through a JV with the local government of Makati City.

Asked what’s driving his interest in transportation projects, Mr. Tiu said he wants to “(help) solve our country’s problem the private sector way,” adding he will “keep trying” to pursue more projects in the future.

The Makati City Subway of Philippine Infradev, which will traverse the central business district of Makati, is targeted to be operational by 2025. It is being pursued with Chinese partners Greenland Holdings Group, Jiangsu Provincial Construction Group Co. Ltd., Holdings Ltd. and China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd.

Meanwhile, Philippine Infradev reported it swung to a profit in the third quarter on the back of a fair value gain on its property in Binangonan, Rizal.

In a regulatory filing submitted to the stock exchange last week, the company said its net income in the July to September period stood at P2.27 billion, a turnaround from last year’s net loss of P21.45 million.

Revenues during the three months shot up to P3.26 billion from P22.33 million in the same period last year, where the P3.26 billion came from a fair value gain in its investment property in Rizal.

“The significant increase of P3.18 billion in total revenue was mainly due to the increase in the estimated market value of the company’s property in Binangonan from P1,200 to P1,742,” Philippine Infradev said in the filing.

Net sales from the company’s real estate business added P2.85 million to the revenue pie, an 88% decline from last year. This represents the company’s ongoing housing projects in Binangonan.

Lower costs and expenses during the quarter, which stood at P20.78 million, or a 54% contraction from last year, helped pull up the bottom line to end at a profit.

For the nine-month period, Philippine Infradev’s net income surged to P2.27 billion from P4.3 million a year ago. Revenues improved to P3.32 billion from last year’s P143.04 million, reflecting the fair value gain recorded in the third quarter.

Expenses during the nine months dropped 41% to P78.15 million, helping further in pulling up the company’s net income.

Shares in Philippine Infradev at the stock exchange slipped 0.04 point or 2.94% to P1.32 each on Thursday, while shares in Greenergy Holdings dipped 0.04 point or 1.94% to P2.02 apiece.

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