MVP firm asserts right over connector road plan

MANILA, Philippines—Pangilinan-led Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) is asserting its hold over the planned “connector road” project amid pronouncements by a rival group that claims to have the lawful right to the multibillion-peso government deal.

MPIC chief financial officer Chris Lizo refuted statements by Indonesian-backed Citra Metro Manila Tollways Corp. (CMMTC), which said the government should not award the toll road concession to any other company.

CMMTC said a recent Department of Justice (DoJ) opinion stated that the company owned the proprietary rights to the connector road, which aims to link toll road systems north and south of Metro Manila.

“But that’s not what the DoJ opinion says,” Lizo said in an interview Tuesday. “The DoJ opinion says that there is no legal impediment for CMMTC to submit a proposal for the project.”

“Any company has the right to file its own proposal, but in the end, it’s the government that will decide which one it will accept,” he told the Inquirer.

The connector road project is a highly coveted contract because once completed, it is almost guaranteed to have “high value” traffic.

CMMTC was formed as a joint venture between state-run Philippine National Construction Corp. (PNCC) and Indonesia’s PT Citra Lamtoro Gung Persada for the sole purpose of building the Metro Manila Skyway.

Lizo said CMMTC’s agreement with the government stated that the company had the rights for the construction of two Skyway stages, namely, the original Makati-to-Bicutan section and the recently opened extension to Alabang, Muntinlupa.

CMMTC earlier said the contract it signed with the government included a third section, which the company identified as the connector road that will link the Skyway with the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx).

“Citra’s right is limited to the right to submit investment proposals, only pursuant to its business and joint venture agreement and the PNCC franchise,” Lizo said. He said that while CMMTC had the right to submit proposals for the project, this did not mean that it had exclusive rights to any contract.

In 2009, MPIC submitted its own proposal to build the connector road at a cost of P17 billion. Under its proposal, MPIC said it planned to build an overhead highway that would stretch from Skyway’s northern end in Makati to Manila’s Tondo district. From there, the road would connect to another planned MPIC project, the so-called “Harbor Link” road, which is an extension of the NLEx.

MPIC, through subsidiary Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., holds the concession for NLEx.

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) had said that it planned to put the MPIC proposal up for a “Swiss challenge,” where interested bidders would be allowed to submit better offers.

“CMMTC is welcome to join the Swiss challenge if they want to. It’s their right,” Lizo said.

But because it holds “pioneer” status for the connector road project, MPIC only needed to match the offers of other bidders to win the final contract.

Lizo said MPIC was close to completing its detailed engineering design for the project. He said he was confident that the company’s proposal would be difficult, if not impossible, to match.