Gov’t fails to sell stake in MVP-led tollways firm

The government has failed to dispose of its 20-percent share in the Manuel V. Pangilinan-led Tollways Management Corp. (TMC), the first privatization venture for the year.

In an e-mail, Chief Privatization Officer Gerard Chan said “no bidder showed up” during last Friday’s deadline for submission of bids.

As such, Chan said the Privatization and Management Office (PMO) declared a failure of bidding.

Asked if the PMO will again try to sell the state’s interest in TMC, Chan said the Department of Finance-attached agency “will wait for directive from the Privatization Council,” referring to the interagency body.

In February, the PMO invited prospective bidders for the government-owned 76,000 common shares in TMC for at least P2.6 billion.

TMC, which operates and maintains toll roads, is a subsidiary of NLEx Corp., a unit of Pangilinan-led Metro Pacific Investments Corp.-owned Metro Pacific Tollways Corp.

NLEx Corp. is the builder-concessionaire and operator of North Luzon Expressway and Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway.