ALI, Robinsons, Filinvest to challenge Megaworld for North Bonifacio property

MANILA, Philippines - Real estate giants Ayala Land Inc. (ALI), Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI) and Robinsons Land Corp. (RLC) will compete with Megaworld Corp. for the development of an 8.38-hectare North Bonifacio property, which will require a minimum investment commitment of P15.6 billion.

The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) has declared the three top developers eligible to submit proposals for the competitive challenge for the privatization and development of the North Bonifacio lots in Bonifacio Global City.

 The BCDA said the three companies would challenge Megaworld’s unsolicited proposal for the joint venture deal.

BCDA vice president for  business development  Aileen Zosa said the issuance of the tender documents or the terms of reference started yesterday and will end on June 26. She added that the pre-selection conference will be held on June 29, 2009.

Deadline for the submission of tender documents, which consist of the technical and financial proposals, is on Aug. 14, 2009.

The competitive challenge procedure will be conducted according to the joint venture guidelines. The selection of BCDA’s joint venture partner will be based solely on the price proposed for the property which is the present value of all cash inflows to BCDA.

The minimum bid price for the North Bonifacio lots starts at P2.789 billion. 

For the North Bonifacio lots, Megaworld submitted an unsolicited proposal to BCDA to pay P33,283.88 per square meter, the same price the Metro Pacific led consortium paid BCDA 14 years ago to jumpstart the development and transformation of the former – military base. 

Megaworld’s proposal became the minimum bid price for the land which will now be up for a competitive challenge, better known as a Swiss challenge. Under the rules, BCDA can invite other developers to submit their own proposals but Megaworld has the right to match these proposals.

Megaworld’s proposal for the North Bonifacio lots is a mixed use development of more than 500,000 square meters of gross floor area and is predominantly residential.