Ayala outbids SMC for Daang Hari

MANILA, Philippines - Ayala Corp., the oldest and one of the most diversified conglomerates in the country, bagged the P1.956-billion Daang Hari-South Luzon Expressway road project, marking its foray into infrastructure which it considers as a new driver of growth.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday, Ayala said it won the 30-year contract to develop and operate a new four-kilometer four-lane tollroad that will link the southern Cavite province to the SLEX, one of two major gateways to the capital.

Ayala submitted the higher bid of P902 million, more than double the floor price and 48 percent more than the offer of the only other bidder – South Luzon Expressway Link, a consortium led by diversifying conglomerate San Miguel Corp.

Only two groups passed the prequalification for the auction and the minimum price was set at P371 million.

The project is the first tollroad venture by the Ayala Group and the first of the $1- billion priority infrastructure deals the government wants to offer to investors under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) program, the centerpiece of development goals of President Aquino’s administration.

Fernando Zobel, president of Ayala Corp., said: “We are delighted to have submitted a competitive proposal for the first project under the government’s Public-Private Partnership program. This is a good initial foray in the transport infrastructure space and we believe this successful experience working within a public-private partnership framework would be helpful in pursuing future projects under the PPP program.”

 “This road project provides significant opportunities for synergies within the Ayala group, especially our real estate group, Ayala Land Inc., as it cuts travel time to our residential and commercial projects in this rapidly growing part of the metropolis,” Zobel added.

Ayala Corp. managing director Eric Francia said yesterday he expects the Department of Public Works and Highways to formally award the concession on Dec. 22, 2011.

The conglomerate, together with its partner, Spanish engineering company Getinsa, will begin the detailed design stage, which will be completed in four months.The DPWH, on the other hand, is expected to complete all right-of-way requirements within six months of signing of the concession agreement.

The project would complement the Cavite-Laguna-East-West Highway and seen to ease traffic between the cities of Las Piñas and Muntinlupa and the province of Cavite, which is one of the most rapidly growing areas around Metro Manila, the DPWH said.

Francia said the group might likely charge motorists P17.

Aside from this, Francia said the conglomerate is looking to bid for other tollroad and rail projects that will be put up for auction by the government under its PPP initiative. Among these include NAIA Expressway , North Luzon Expressway-SLEX connector road as well as the Laguindingan International Airport, which is designed to serve the general areas of Cagayan de Oro City in Misamis Oriental.

The NAIA expressway will link two highways to the three terminals of Manila’s main international airport at an estimated cost of P 10.6 billion.