TPLEx may extend up to Laoag — Cojuangco

MANILA, Philippines – As San Miguel Corp. focuses on building its portfolio of tollway projects, company chair Eduardo ‘Danding’ Cojuangco confirmed they are pursuing plans for the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEx) to eventually extend to Laoag City in northern Luzon.

“Yes, we got this [toll road] business, including this proposal to extend TPLEx up to Laoag in Ilocos Norte,” Cojuangco said at the conglomerate’s annual stockholder’s meeting on Tuesday, June 11.

The first phase of the two-lane TPLEx, which connects Central and Northern Luzon, spans from Gerona, Tarlac to Carmen in Pangasinan and is set to start operations by the end of 2013. The 88.58 km. tollway is originally slated to end in Rosario in La Union.

Project concessionaire Private Infrastructure Development Corp. (PIDC) is led by San Miguel and D.M. Consunji. 

The extension of the toll road business to Laoag has been raised during the Arroyo administration. 

Toll road businesses 

San Miguel’s other upcoming infrastructure projects include the expanded Boracay Airport, the NAIA Expressway, Skyway Stage 3, the NLEx-SLEx Connector Road, and MRT-7.

“Over the next 5 to 6 year period, we wil see the completion of many of our major projects and begin realizing the revenues derived from there,” said Cojuangco Jr.

According to Cojuangco, the NAIA Expressway is a major component of their toll road network in the south connecting the South Luzon Expressway and Skyway system to all 3 major airport terminals in Metro Manila and to the future business and entertain hub, Pagcor’s Entertainment City.

Cojuangco said “the value of this investment goes beyond the potentials revenues we project.”

For 2012, San Miguel reported sales revenues of P699 billion up 30% from the previous year. Of this 70% was derived from new businesses.

Consolidated net income attributable to equity holders of the parent company reached P27.6 billion, 57% higher than the previous year.

Cojuangco stated that the growth in the new businesses had been ‘tremendous’ with a 46% improvement in revenues over 2011 levels. – Rappler.com