EdgePoint open to acquiring more PLDT cell towers

EdgePoint Infrastructure is open to acquiring more tower assets of Manuel Pangilinan-led PLDT Inc. as it ramps up its local portfolio, banking on the growing demand for connectivity in the country.

Suresh Sidhu, CEO of the independent tower company, said in a press briefing in Makati on Thursday that they were working in line with the government’s common towers policy, which “seeks to enhance connectivity while easing mobile network operators from heavy capital expenditure required for building communication towers.”

Edgepoint local subsidiary Comworks Infratech Corp. finalized a P35-billion sale and leaseback deal with PLDT for 2,934 of its towers in April.

So far, 2,232 tower sites have been transferred to Comworks. The transaction is expected to be completed in the first half of next year.

PLDT chair Pangilinan, in a recent press briefing, said that they might consider selling another set of towers following the conclusion of the current sale and leaseback deal.

“We enjoy working with PLDT. It has been a very smooth transition,” Sidhu told the Inquirer on the sidelines of the event.

But he said that “the focus is to build towers” still. He projected that the country would need about 2,000 to 4,000 new sites per year to address the growing demand, especially with the rise of 5G technology.

As part of its deal with PLDT, the EdgePoint official said they would construct 750 towers in the next two to three years. Vicente Araña, chief financial officer of EdgePoint in the Philippines, said that a tower site may cost around $100,000 to $130,000 each to build. INQ

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