Government to compete with private sector for FTI

The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) will compete with the private sector in biding for the Food Terminal Inc. (FTI) in Taguig City.

Winston Garcia, GSIS president and general manager, said the state pension fund will construct an interchange to link the FTI to the C-5 Road, which stretches from Taguig to Quezon City.

The interchange would consequently link the FTI to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport to attract investors, he added.

Garcia said the GSIS plans to acquire the 120-hectare FTI for P7 billion or below the finance department’s initial estimate of P10 billion.

“I’ll buy the whole thing for P7 billion,” he said. “That is a very reasonable offer.”

Garcia said the FTI would be an investment for GSIS.

“I know that I can double my investment in five years,” he said.

Garcia said he is ready to go against the Ayalas, who have also expressed interest in the FTI.

He is the only long-term player who can afford to honor the long-term lease contracts of the government with agricultural companies, he added.

He plans to bring in real estate companies that would help GSIS develop the property, Garcia said.

The FTI, an agro-industrial commercial estate in Taguig, 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.

The government is planning to sell the FTI this year to help raise revenues.

Aside from GSIS and the Ayala Group, other Filipino developers are interested in acquiring FTI.

However, the government has still to formally announce the privatization of FTI.

Acquiring the FTI would be strategic for the Ayala Group as the area is near Bonifacio Global City in Taguig operated by Ayala Land, Inc. and other companies.

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 like Essensa, Serendra, Pacific Plaza and Regent Parkway and office buildings such as Net One and Bonifacio Technology Center, and luxury car dealer Lexus Manila recently inaugurated its showroom.

It is also the site of a major shopping center, Ayala Land’s Market! Market!