San Miguel: No plans to look for MRT7 partner

MANILA, Philippines – Diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corporation (SMC) has no plans to get a new partner for the $1.6-billion Metro Rail Transit Line 7 (MRT7) deal, after it recently bought out its partner businessman Salvador Zamora.

San Miguel president and chief operating officer Ramon S. Ang said in an interview on the sidelines of Top Frontier Investment Holdings Incorporated’s annual stockholders’ meeting that the company acquired Zamora’s shares on the condition that it will not sell the shares to others.

“We have an agreement that we will not sell or flip the shares,” Ang said.

San Miguel, through its wholly owned infrastructure unit San Miguel Holdings Corporation, earlier this month acquired Zamora’s 49% stake in the company that holds the exclusive right to design, construct, and complete the MRT7 for $100 million.

The sale enabled San Miguel to consolidate its stake in MRT7 to 100%.

San Miguel acquired 51% equity interest in Universal LRT in November 2010.

After achieving financial close, San Miguel last April broke ground for the MRT7 project which involves the construction of a 23-kilometer elevated train line from San Jose del Monte in Bulacan to the corner of North Avenue in Quezon City.

The project, which will be completed in 3 to 4 years with the assistance of Hyundai Rotem and EEI consortium, will have 14 stations and will only take 30 minutes to travel end-to-end. 

It will also connect to the MRT3 and LRT1 and serve over 800,000 passengers daily. (READ: After 7 years, San Miguel unit to start building MRT7)

Respect common station resolution

Meanwhile, Ang said San Miguel will abide by whatever decision the government will make on the controversial common station.

Ayala Corp managing director Eric Francia said earlier this week that all parties concerned are now in talks to finally resolve the issue on the common station.

Based on initial plans, the common station will be built between SM Prime’s SM North EDSA shopping mall and Ayala Land’s Trinoma shopping mall.

The common station would serve as a platform to interconnect LRT1 that runs from Baclaran to Monumento, the MRT3 that traverses EDSA from North Avenue in Quezon City to Taft Avenue in Pasay City, and the proposed MRT7 that would run from Caloocan City and pass through Lagro and Fairview, Novaliches, Batasan, Diliman, and Philcoa, before ending at EDSA.

The common station was supposed to be built in front of SM North EDSA, based on a P200 million agreement between SM and the government.

But in 2013, the transport department recommended the possible relocation of the proposed common station to Trinoma, as the government could save as much as P1 billion if the common station will be constructed near Trinoma instead of SM North EDSA. – Rappler.com