MPIC to further expand tieup with Spain’s Indra

MANILA, Philippines - Infrastructure giant Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) is further expanding its partnership with Spain’s number one technology firm Indra.

MPIC chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said the infrastructure giant is looking at expanding its partnership with Indra in the Asia Pacific region particularly in Southeast Asia within the year.

Pangilinan said the Spanish information technology (IT) provider has an existing joint venture partnership with Manila Electric Co. (Meralco).

 “We are expanding that platform to cover Asia mainly in IT systems, cyber-security, and defense related IT matters,” he added.

Pangilinan met with officials of Indra several times during his recent visit to Madrid.

 “We met them several times in Madrid and we’ll expand the joint venture,” he said.

Aside from the Philippines, he pointed out that the company is looking at expanding the partnership in Indonesia through First Pacific’s PT Indofood Sukses Makmur in Indonesia.

 “Well, here in the Philippines initially, then Indonesia. We would like to tap into Indofood,” he said.

Aside from Meralco, he said the MPIC Group uses the IT services of Indra in other business segments such as water, hospitals, and tollways.

MPIC has investments in power (Meralco), water (Maynilad Water Services Inc.), tollroads (Metro Pacific Tollways Corp.), and hospitals as it owns Makati Medical Center, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Cardinal Santos Medical Center, Asian Hospital, De los Santos Medical Center, Central Luzon Doctors Hospital, Riverside Medical Center as well as Davao Doctors Hospital and Nursing College.

 “We are using a lot of their IT services in the hospitals, Maynilad, tollways and within Meralco itself. It’s a good company,” Pangilinan said.

The partnership between MPIC and Madrid-based Indra goes a long way in 2010 as it tapped the IT firm to conduct the feasibility study for the comprehensive development of the Clark international airport in Pampanga.

The AF Consortium, the tandem of MPIC and Ayala Corp., has tapped Indra Systems SA as a partner for the P1.7 billion automated fare collection system (AFCS) public private partnership (PPP) project for the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) and Light Rail Transit (LRT).

It has also partnered with Indra for the bidding of the P3.44-billion Land Transportation Office (LTO) information technology system project to make it easier for authorities to recover stolen vehicles, trace smuggled vehicles, prevent double registration and monitor unregistered vehicles..

The tandem of Indra Sistemas SA and MPIC’s Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. is competing with the joint venture of Kaisa Consulting Co. Inc., FPT Information System Corp. and NTT Data Corp. as well as the Avesco Marketing Corp.-Sung Gwang Co. Ltd. joint venture.

Aside from MPIC, First Pacific has investments in dominant carrier Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), Philex Mining Corp., FPM Power, and FP Natural Resources.