MANILA, Philippines — The Marcos Jr. administration broached the idea of investing in the Bataan-Cavite interlink bridge and the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines hours after the controversial sovereign wealth fund was signed into law.
The proposal was floated by Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri on Tuesday.
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The investment idea comes at a precarious time for the Maharlika Investment Fund, since the Marcos Jr. administration eyes the fund as a “valuable alternative” to debt financing when the Philippines graduates to an upper middle-income economy.
As it is, the bridge project is estimated to be 32 kilometers long, effectively connecting Central Luzon (Region III) and Calabarzon (Region IV-A). Construction will commence in the first quarter of 2024, with expectations of cutting travel time across the region to 45 minutes from five hours.
The Asian Development Bank recently completed the environmental impact assessments for the project.
Zubiri explained that the government can make money from these investments by way of tolls.
“You don’t want to invest all of the MIF’s fund into that bridge. So what will happen is that there will be a consortium—there would be, of course, private partners—Maharlika will come in as 40,50,60% investor,” he said on Tuesday.
The Senate president said that if the Maharlika Investment Fund owned 60% equity in the bridge, “they will get 60% profit of the toll road.”
Zubiri also warmed to the idea of the Maharlika earning from transmission fees, considering that Filipinos already pay among the priciest electricity rates in Asia.
The lawmaker is one of the stalwart supporters of the administration in the legislative branch, who shepherded the passage of the Maharlika into law amid despite concerns from the public.
Zubiri bared the example of Maharlika investing in the NGCP. The firm, where the State Grid Corp. of China owns a 40% stake, attracted scrutiny in past months after Senate lawmakers raised fears that Beijing can shut off power nationwide.
“Right now it’s earning so much money since those transmission lines are already in place. So the Maharlika Investment Fund will automatically get income from the transmission fees being charged,” he said.
The passage of the Maharlika came days before President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s second State of the Nation Address. The president is widely expected to sound the drumbeats on possible investment plans for the fund, as Zubiri was hopeful that projects for the investment fund will get some mention on Monday. — Ramon Royandoyan