AYALA Corp., the country’s oldest conglomerate, said it would submit to the Duterte administration three unsolicited proposals for major infrastructure projects.
AC Infrastructure President Rene Almendras said the three proposals includes the P25-billion, 8.6-kilometer toll road from Santa Mesa, Manila, to Mall of Asia, in partnership with the SM Group.
“We just received last Thursday the communication from the Department of Public Works and Highways [DPWH] for our first unsolicited proposal. So effectively, it starts the clock ticking. The DPWH is now in the process of evaluating the initial report,” Almendras said.
“We’re also studying a few more unsolicited proposals. We continue to look for places where there is an opportunity to enhance movement, either of goods or of people. We hope to continue to do that,” he added.
Almendras did not detail the two other proposals, but one will be for a transport infrastructure in Mindanao that will not be a toll road, railway nor an airport.
“We’re looking at something in Mindanao, but it’s premature to disclose right now. We’re waiting for government signals. We’re actually engaged by agencies that are involved. They seem to like it, but still, I’m not at the liberty to disclose until we finally get together. But it’s definitely one sizeable possible infra project in Mindanao,” he said.
Ayala Chairman Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala said since this government is open to unsolicited proposals, this produces some interesting potential opportunities.
“It’s really an opportunity where the government decides for the development of the country. We believe that will also add a lot of value to the city, to change the traffic management,” Ayala said.
The Aquino administration prohibited unsolicited proposals on infrastructure projects, as this can be a source of corruption. “Our discipline is that it must be something that we can add value. Yes, we’ve been looking at things that can enhance the other businesses that we are into,” Almendras said.
Almendras said their proposal with SM for the C3 Elevated Expressway, for instance, has been generating a lot of interest from potential partners.
“We were approached by other people who are interested. Some people like the project and came to us. We’ve announced from the very beginning that we are very open to other people’s joining,” he said, adding these are local conglomerates.