FTI bidding to push through Aug 14

MANILA, Philippines – It’s all systems go for the long-awaited public bidding of the Food Terminal Inc (FTI) industrial complex on Monday, August 14, the government said this weekend.

The bidding was originally scheduled on August 8, but the Privatization Management Office (PMO) moved it to give investors more time to conduct due diligence.

“Per bidding rules, the bid boxes shall open for submission of bids at 10 a.m. and close at exactly 11:30 a.m.,” said PMO.

Those that will not make it in time will not be accepted. All bids will be opened immediately, PMO added.

Seventy-four hectares of the 103-hectare FTI property in Taguig City will be bid out Monday. The remaining 29 hectares will be allocated for other purposes such as the 5-hectare integrated bus terminal project that the Department of Transportation and Communications is overseeing.

With a floor price of P10.2 billion, the FTI property has attracted the interest of the country’s biggest property groups. They include:

• Gokongwei-led Robinsons Land Corp,
• Andrew Tan-led Empire East Land,
• Ayala group’s Ayala Land Inc,
• Lopez-led Rockwell Land Corp,
• Sy-led SM Land Inc,
• Andrew Gotianun-led Filinvest Land Inc, and
• Jose Antonio-led Century Properties Group Inc.

Previous bidding

The government had long planned to sell FTI to raise funds needed to plug its budget deficit. The last attempt to auction it off happened in October 2009, but companies snubbed the bidding.

If successfully sold and eventually developed, the government expects economic activities in Taguig and nearby areas to flourish due to the anticipated increase in employment and infrastructure.

The government earlier said proceeds of the sale will go to the Department of Agrarian Reform for the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program, and to the Department of Agriculture. – Rappler.com