Megawide to upgrade PITX

MANILA, Philippines — Infrastructure builder Megawide Construction Corp. is left with at least P1.5 billion from a fundraising program, but plans to use the bulk of the amount within the year to upgrade the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX).

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Megawide said it has spent P2.77 billion or 64 percent of the amount it raised from preferred shares offering in 2020.

Broken down, Megawide released P1.09 billion in 2022, the bulk of which was used to develop the Cebu Integrated Transport Hub and expand the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) – and P1.68 billion in 2021.

As a result, Megawide is left with a balance of P1.56 billion from a net gain of P4.33 billion from the preferred shares offering.

For 2023, Megawide plans to spend the bulk of the amount for the development of the second lot of the PITX.

At present, the PITX stands on a 2.7-hectare lot, housing the transport terminal, commercial spaces, and office buildings.

Megawide wants to develop a second lot extending 1.8 hectares to allocate a staging area for buses and boost PITX’s service operations.

“Lot 2 will also offer additional employment and business opportunities through the construction of office towers and retail establishments inside the facility,” Megawide said.

Based on the blueprint, the second lot will be used to put up a similar structure to the existing terminal made up of four levels: the ground level serves as a bus staging area, the floors above it as commercial leasing spaces.

Megawide will invest   P5 billion to complete the project.

“The project is currently undergoing design revision and reconceptualization and being modified to serve its best use under the new operating environment. In addition, developments over the last six months in this space have been very fluid and encouraging,” Megawide said.

Moving forward, the infrastructure builder expects to make progress in its development plans for grand terminals like the PITX within the next six to 12 months.

For this segment, Megawide has set aside a total of P994.69 million from its fundraising proceeds.

Megawide keeps a balance of P299.13 million for the expansion of its pre-cast business, as well as P253.69 million for the multi-use development in MCIA.

In 2020 Megawide, led by its president and CEO Edgar Saavedra, raised P4.36 billion from the preferred shares offering of 43.63 million shares at P100 per piece.