Ayala Group set to bid for Food Terminals

MANILA, Philippines - The Ayala Group is preparing to bid for the government’s 120-hectare Food Terminals Inc. (FTI) property in Taguig.

Ayala Land Inc., the real estate arm of the Ayala Group, said it is currently evaluating the agri-industrial property estimated at P13 billion.

“We’re still studying and carefully evaluating it,” ALI president Antonino Aquino said.

He stressed that ALI has not made an offer for the property. The government is set to bid out the property on Oct. 8.

“When our evaluation is finished, we’re going to make an offer,” Aquino said.

The Ayala Land executive said the FTI property, located in Taguig, could be another area for commercial and residential development.

Aquino said putting up another mall may not be viable for the FTI property because it is near the Market! Market! mall and Bonifacio High Street in upscale Fort Bonifacio.

In 2003, Ayala Land, along with Evergreen Holdings Inc. of the Campos Group purchased a controlling stake in Bonifacio Land Development Corp. from Hong Kong’s Metro Pacific Corp.

Bonifacio Global City is home to upscale condominiums such as Essensa, Serendra, Pacific Plaza and Regent Parkway and office buildings such as Net One and Bonifacio Technology Center.

There are also restaurants and retail outlets and a major shopping center in the area such as the Ayala Land’s Market! Market!.

Finance officials confirmed that the Ayalas are looking into developing the FTI property. Aside from the Ayalas, there are other Filipino developers that have expressed interest in the government’s FTI asset, officials said.

The government will bid out 103 hectares of the 120-hectare lot, Finance Undersecretary Crisanta Legaspi earlier said. The remaining 17 hectares are owned by the National Food Authority (NFA) and therefore, would be excluded from the sale.

FTI is a 120-hectare agro-industrial commercial estate in Taguig. It was originally built to be a food processing and consolidation center for agricultural products. It houses more than 300 small-to-medium scale companies engaged in different industries such as manufacturing, garments and electronics.