P18-B Connector road project’s legal hurdles: MPIC to present possible solutions to Palace

MANILA, Philippines - Possible solutions to the legal hurdles delaying the P18-billion connector road project of infrastructure giant Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) are expected to be presented to Malacanang as early as this week, a Cabinet official said over the weekend.

Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya said in a text message that the joint legal group of the government has identified solutions to the legal issues hampering the approval of the connector road be presented to President Aquino.

“Presentation will be made to the President hopefully by this week. It is in our best interest that said connector road be constructed,” Abaya stressed.

Malacanang earlier directed the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) to immediately resolve the legal hurdles to the toll road that would connect the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) and the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX).

Abaya met with Justice Secretary Leila de Lima and Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson in Malacanang last June 26 to address the issues raised questioning the legality of the proposed toll road.

A lawyer had questioned before the Department of Justice (DOJ) whether the connector road would be built under the Philippine National Construction Corp. (PNCC) franchise or would be subjected to a Swiss challenge.

Abaya earlier explained that the complainant questioned the shift of the mode of the project from an unsolicited proposal to a Swiss challenge and then to a joint venture with PNCC.

“So those are the legal questions that we passed on to the DOJ,” he added.

The DOTC chief is hopeful that the legal issues could be resolved soon.

“So we will see. We hope there is a clear legal solution to it. I am really interested in getting this implemented,” he said.

The project that would connect NLEX and SLEX via Segment 9 connecting NLEX to MacArthur Highway in Valenzuela would be completed in August, and Segment 10 starts from the Mindanao Ave. exit of NLEX to North Harbor in August next year.

NLEX would be connected to the common alignment at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) in Sta. Mesa to the P26.5-billion Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3 project of diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC).

Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) president Ramoncito Fernandez earlier said the connector road would not be completed before the end of the term of President Aquino due to legal issues that delay Malacanang approval.

The MPIC unit was earlier expecting the nod of the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) by the first quarter of 2014.

For his part, TRB executive director Edmundo Reyes Jr. earlier pointed out that certain legal issues were holding up the approval process after a case was filed questioning the legality of the joint venture entered into by MPTC and the state-run PNCC.

Manila North Tollways Corp. (MNTC) intends to raise P10 billion in the last quarter of the year to finance the proposed NLEX-SLEX connector road. It is looking at a combination of ways to raise funds such as either from existing shareholders or through the issuance of bonds.

About 70 percent of the P18-billion project cost for the connector road would be in the form of debt while the remaining 30 percent would be from internally generated funds or cash from existing shareholders.

Last March, MNTC successfully raised P7 billion from the sale of retail bonds that were listed at the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. (PDEX).

The MPIC Group has earmarked P40 billion worth of investments for various road projects here and abroad over the next five years.

Aside from local projects, MPIC earlier said it is looking at two major toll road projects in Vietnam that could entail investments of up to $1 billion as part of efforts to diversify its presence in the region.