SNC-Lavalin to invest $1B in LRT project

Canada-based SNC-Lavalin will invest more than $1 billion in the Philippines to help the government finance the expansion of the Light Railway Transit (LRT) system in Metro Manila.

This was revealed yesterday by Filipino-born Canadian Secretary of State Dr. Rey Pagtakhan during a press briefing in Malacañang following his courtesy call on President Arroyo.

Pagtakhan said the project, which was approved in principle by the President a year ago, would give a strong signal to the world that the Philippines is a safe country to invest in.

"We are pursuing this project because it will send a clear message to the world that when a highly regarded Canadian company is able to have its business in the Philippines, then I am sure other investors in the world would also like to see that for themselves," Pagtakhan said.

He said Canada has a highly sophisticated knowledge-based economy and is among the world’s top four in aerospace industry, automobile export industry and in transport industry.

"So, we would like to offer this expertise to the Philippines, in partnership with the Filipino businessmen and the Philippine government as the situation dictates," Pagtakhan said.

SNC-Lavalin has been in discussions with the government for several years about the LRT Line 1 expansion project.

Canadian Ambassador to the Philippines Robert Colet, who accompanied Pagtakhan during the courtesy call, said discussions on the project are going on well, and that they are hoping that a final decision would be reached soon.

"SNC-Lavalin will be able to invest over $1 billion for the LRT 1 expansion project. This is not a new project. This is a project that we’ve been in discussion with the Philippines government for some time now," Colet said.

The LRT Line 1 capacity expansion project phase 2 has already started and is targeted for completion in December 2005.

This project seeks to increase LRT Line 1 ridership by acquiring 12 new air-conditioned four-car trains, and installing air conditioning units in the old 63-car fleet. This will effectively increase line capacity from 27,000 passengers per hour per direction to 40,000.

The project costs P11 billion and is 85 percent financed by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation.

The government is also planning to expand the LRT Line 1 southward to the cities of Parañaque and Las Piñas, and to Bacoor in Cavite raising ridership to 40,000 persons per day. The southward expansion of the LRT Line 1 will cost around $482 million.

The government pledged to build new mass transit lines and finish at least three by June 2004 to benefit millions of passengers.

Born in the Philippines, Pagtakhan finished his medicine from the University of the Philippines and holds the degree of Master of Science in Peri-Natal Physiology from the University of Manitoba.

Pagtakhan was granted Canadian citizenship in 1974 and was first elected to the House of Commons in 1988. He was reelected for a fourth term in 2002.

He was appointed Minister of Veterans Affairs on Jan. 15, 2002 and as Secretary of State for Science Research and Development on May 26, 2002.

Pagtakhan previously served as Secretary of State for Asia-Pacific and as Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister.