SMC ramps up massive infrastructure projects

MANILA, Philippines — Conglomerate San Miguel Corp. is going full throttle on its infrastructure projects, including an aggressive rollout of battery storage facilities, as it commits to help the country fully recover from the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the company’s annual stockholders meeting yesterday, SMC president Ramon Ang said big-ticket infrastructure projects that are underway and progressing well are the New Manila International Airport in Bulacan; the Mass Rail Transit 7 (MRT-7) project that will connect Metro Manila and Quezon City to Bulacan; South Luzon Expressway TR4 project, which will extend the SLEX from Sto. Tomas, Batangas to Lucena, Quezon province, and the upcoming SLEX TR5 project from Lucena all the way to Matnog, Sorsogon.

SMC is also investing at least $1 billion to build 31 new battery energy storage system facilities nationwide with a capacity of 1,000 megawatts to ensure stable and reliable power supply to more provinces.

This is also seen to complement SMC’s planned additional investments in renewable energy, which include new baseload capacities utilizing natural gas to ensure that the growing power needs of the  developing economy are met over the long term, Ang said.

“There are many projects in various stages of development throughout the San Miguel Group. What is common to all these projects is our stronger push for nation-building, and towards greater sustainability,” he said.

In the area of food manufacturing, SMC is expanding its manufacturing capacities in various regions nationwide, with plans to build agro-industrial and special economic zones to drive regional growth and spur job creation.

“The continued expansion of our food and beverage businesses will help spur regional growth by creating thousands of new jobs and boosting the agriculture sector and local industries,” Ang said.

During the meeting, Ang reported SMC’s strong performance for 2021, as all the company’s major businesses turned in higher volume, revenue and income results.

Net income jumped 120 percent to P48.2 billion as consolidated revenues rose 30 percent to P941.2 billion.

The company’s growth momentum carried through the first quarter of the year, with profit rising 19 percent to P13.9 billion.