THE National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Investment Coordination Committee (ICC) has accepted the counterproposal made by the project’s proponent, a consortium led by Universal LRT Corp. for the Metro Rail Transit 7 project.

Neda acting director general Augusto Santos said the ICC accepted the counterproposal subject to the inclusion of the step-in right for the government. Santos said this would grant the government usufruct rights to develop the real-estate component of the project in case the proponent fails to do so.

As of press time, however, the proponent has yet to inform the Neda about the inclusion of the step-in rights in the proposal.

Santos, nonetheless, said that if Universal LRT Corp. will accept the inclusion of the step-in right, the project will be included on the agenda of the Neda board meeting today, Tuesday.

“We accepted the counterproposal subject to a certain modification [which is] the inclusion of step-in rights. If the proponent fails to develop the real-estate [component], the government will be granted usufruct [rights] to develop the property,” Santos said.

“As of the moment, the proponent has not yet accepted the modification. If the proponent will accept the modification, we will include it in the Neda board meeting tomorrow,” he added. 

Officials of the Neda said the Swiss Challenge of the MRT 7 failed due to the absence of a challenger. As a result, the proponent, Universal LRT Corp., presented the government with a counterproposal.

The counterproposal includes the performance undertaking which signified the commitment of Universal LRT Corp. to undertake the real-estate development in San Jose del Monte around the planned site of the last passenger station of the MRT 7.

The project costs $1.235 billion and will be placed under a 25-year build-operate-transfer (BOT) scheme, while the real-estate component is worth $2.5 billion. The real-estate project will be located in a 200-hectare area in barangay Tungkong Mangga.

As a BOT project, the MRT 7 project will not involve any form of guarantee from the government.

The Universal LRT Corp. will build the MRT-7, a 22-kilometer mostly elevated rail track from North Avenue in Quezon City to San Jose del Monte, Bulacan, including a 22-km six-lane access road from San Jose del Monte to the North Expressway Tollgate in Bocaue, Bulacan.

The consortium includes Siemens AG of Germany; Alstom Corp. of France; China National Technical Import and Export Corp.; EL International Holdings of Hong Kong; Earth Tech of Tyco International USA; Premier Gold of Japan; Redford Assets Ltd. of the SM Group; EEI Corp. of the Yuchengco Group; Penta Capital Management Corp., Merlin Pacific Capital Inc., TCGI Engineers and private investors such as George Go and former finance secretary Roberto de Ocampo.

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT—The $57-million expansion program for the Subic Bay Industrial Park (SBIP) here is now attracting more investors from Taiwan, particularly those engaged in export manufacturing, research and development.

THE government of the Philippines and Japan will formally sign two projects under the 27th Yen Loan Package this week after a four-year suspension next week.

AN official of the Department of Agriculture (DA) on Monday cited biotechnology as the key to the country’s survival during these crucial times when the country is threatened by unfavorable weather conditions such as drought and supertyphoons that can adversely affect agricultural production.

Damage to crops and fisheries caused by typhoons Lando and Mina has already reached P109.7 million, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said Monday.

DAVAO CITY—A local food manufacturer here broke through the rich Middle Eastern market when it sent its initial shipment of 20 metric tons (MT) of frozen bananas last month, in a successful follow-through of the government-led trade mission to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in April this year.

AN official from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said not all fishermen are affected by the ongoing exploratory oil-drilling operations by a Japanese in Tañon Strait—the sea between the islands of Cebu and Negros.

THE National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Investment Coordination Committee (ICC) has accepted the counterproposal made by the project’s proponent, a consortium led by Universal LRT Corp. for the Metro Rail Transit 7 project.