Metro Pacific Investments Corporation has revised its unsolicited proposal to take over the operations of the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 and decided it will no longer assert its legal right to undertake the line's capacity expansion.
Mr Jose Ma Lim president & CEO of Metro Pacific said that the company submitted last week a more flexible unsolicited proposal that would enable the government to expand the train capacity as quickly as possible for the benefit of the public.
The Transportation Department is now reviewing the proposal.
Mr Lim said that "In the first proposal, it is an assumption of the existing contract. We will take over the company and expand it under the rights. Under this one, the DOTC will give us a new concession overlaying the existing concession."
Metro Pacific said that if accepted by the government, the proposed takeover of MRT3 would be subjected to Swiss Challenge, wherein other interested parties would be given an opportunity to match or top the bid terms of the original proponent.
Metro Pacific earlier insisted it had the legal right to implement the expansion of MRT since it owned the company that signed the build lease transfer contract for the railway system.
In 2010, Metro Pacific entered into cooperation agreement with Sobrepeña led Fil Estate group. Under the agreement, Metro Pacific acquired the rights and interests of Fil Estate in Metro Rail Transit Corporation, the operator of the railway.
Metro Pacific made this claim after rival San Miguel Corporation also submitted a separate proposal to take over and expand the operations of MRT 3.
The company said that based on its original proposal, it would spend USD 300 million to improve the system's operations and expand its capacity. Metro Pacific was hoping to add more trains and increase the MRT 3's capacity to 700,000 passengers a day from the current 350,000.
Metro Pacific also offered the government USD 350 million for the acquisition of equity and some of the bonds issued by MRTC. Metro Pacific wanted the concession contract for the MRT 3 to be extended by 15 years to enable it to recover its investments. However, the government previously said it was inclined to bid out the privatization contract for the MRT Line 3.
Source - Manila Standard Today
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