PHILIPPINES: Brewing, infrastructure and energy conglomerate San Miguel Corp has bought-out Universal LRT Corp and Salvador B Zamora II’s 49% stake in Manila Metro Rail Transit Line 7 concessionaire Universal LRT Corp (BVI) Ltd and 100% interest in designated future operator ULCOM for US$100m. San Miguel’s acquisition of 100% of each of the businesses was completed on July 1.
MRT7 is being developed by Universal LRT Corp under a design, finance, build and operate PPP concession agreement with the Department of Transportation & Communications. The 22·8 km line will start at an interchange with LRT1 at North Avenue in the city centre, running underground to Quezon Memorial and then on elevated alignment to a bus-rail transport hub at San Jose del Monte in Bulacan, with 14 stations.
The cost of construction is put at 69·3bn pesos. Contractor EEI Corp began work in April, and Hyundai Rotem is to supply signalling, telecoms, power supplies 36 three-car trainsets.
ULCOM will operate the line for 35 years from the opening which is planned for April 2020. Initial ridership is forecast at 350 000 passengers a day, growing to 800 000.
- An article on the Manila metro appeared in the March 2016 issue of Metro Report International, which subscribers can access in the digital archive.
