GT Capital seen vying for railway, tollroad deals

GT Capital Holdings Inc. is keen on railway and tollroad projects under the government’s public private partnership program but it was shying away from airport deals, saying these projects do not have the “right fit” in its infrastructure strategy.

GT Capital president Carmelo Bautista told reporters last week that the company had already acquired bid documents for the operations and maintenance contract for the Light Rail Transit Line 2 and the P122.8-billion Laguna Lakeshore Expressway Dike.

The conglomerate, owned by the family of tycoon George S.K. Ty, is among the growing number of local investors keen on undertaking PPP projects.

For GT Capital, Carmelo said both the aforementioned tollroad and railway PPP deals were attractive for their real estate potential, and would mainly benefit the company’s real estate subsidiary, Federal Land.

GT Capital may be facing stiff competition in the LRT-2 deal, with eight other groups, including San Miguel Corp., Aboitiz Equity Ventures and the tandem between Ayala Corp. and Metro Pacific Investments Corp. also acquiring bid documents. The pre-qualification deadline for LRT-2 has been moved to Dec. 15 from the original date of Nov. 20 to give bidders more time to prepare, the transportation department said.

“The interesting component of that project is the extension to the east,” Bautista said, referring to a project that would extend the 13.8-kilometer elevated railway in Metro Manila by 4.19-km from Santolan to the Masinag market in Antipolo City.

He said increased passenger volume in the long-term would help retail developments at the train stations. He added that Federal Land was open to acquiring pieces of properties near these stations, although that would still require further study.

GT Capital also acquired bid documents for the Laguna Lakeshore PPP, with its real estate component involving the reclamation of 700 hectares of land in Laguna Lake near Taguig and Muntinlupa being one of the main attractions.

The pre-qualification deadline for this project was set for Jan. 14 next year.