Philippines’ biggest developers join forces to develop landmark project

Three of the biggest real estate firms in the Philippines – Ayala Land Inc, SM Prime Holdings Inc and Megaworld Corporation – have formed a new consortium with holding company Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc, in order to bid for one of the largest infrastructure projects being offered by the Aquino administration.

According to a report from Inquirer.net, the four firms will each own 25 percent of a newly formed joint venture entity called Trident Infrastructure and Development Corporation, which filed the pre-qualification documents for the Laguna Lakeshore Expressway Dike project last week.

Each company is expected to contribute their individual expertise in land reclamation and development to the expressway-dike project.

The mega consortium is among the prospective bidders for the Lakeshore project, which will involve the construction of a 47-km dike for flood control that also cradles a six-lane toll road, running from Taguig City to Los Baños in Laguna Province. Other bidders include San Miguel Corporation, Rainbow Holdings Inc, and Malaysia-backed MTD-PAVI-Hanshin Consortium.

Valued at PHP123.8 billion (USD2.81 billion), the new expressway-dike project aims to ease traffic for residents in the southern parts of Mega Manila, which is expected to become a residential hotspot within the next few years.

Per a recent independent research by consultancy firm Cuervo Far East, property prices in the high-end residential spaces in the “west growth area” of Southern Metro Manila could surge up to PHP100,000 (USD2,270) per sqm by 2019.

The area covers parts of Las Piñas and Muntinlupa cities, home to some of the Philippine capital’s most exclusive villages, including Ayala Alabang, Alabang Hills and Ayala Southvale, where land values are currently at PHP62,000 (USD1,400) per sqm in 2014, ABS-CBN reported.

Analysts at Cuervo Far East see an average annual growth of 10 percent in market values, supported by new developments and infrastructure projects in the area.

The study cited that new road networks, including the Manila-Cavite Expressway and the Muntinlupa-Cavite Expressway, among others, “will offer new routes to motorists and can minimise the travelling time going to Manila, various Philippine ports, airports, and nearby central business districts by almost half of their current time.”

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