Andrew Tan’s Skytrain project set to start construction this year

MANILA, Philippines — Infracorp Development Inc., the upstart infrastructure company of tycoon Andrew Tan’s Alliance Global Group Inc. (AGI), is ready to begin the construction of its proposed P3-billion two-kilometer Skytrain monorail project this year after the Department of Transportation (DOTr) granted it  original proponent status (OPS).

Infracorp president Kevin Tan said it would take the company two years to complete the project.

“We can start the project before the year ends and this will take us two years to complete it. By early 2021, we can open the Skytrain to the public,” he said.

The AGI infrastructure unit submitted the unsolicited proposal to the government last year.

In its proposal, Infracorp offered to build the Skytrain and transfer its ownership to the government, with Infracorp having the sole right to operate the Skytrain.

The Skytrain monorail project will utilize the automated cable-propelled monorail technology and promises to reduce travel time from Fort Bonifacio to MRT Guadalupe Makati and vice versa to only five minutes – at no cost to the government.

Furthermore, in its proposal, Infracorp said the project would also make provisions to interconnect with other transport hubs operating within the area where the monorail passes through. It envisions to benefit around 60,000 to 100,000 passengers daily going to and from the bustling business districts of Makati and Taguig.

More importantly, Tan said the project would connect Makati to Taguig and vice versa.

“These two largest business districts in the country need an efficient and fast transport system that is at par with what the other business districts in cosmopolitan cities like Tokyo and Sydney have,” he said.

With the DOTr’s endorsement of the project, the proposal would now go through a review by the National Economic and Development Authority  – Investment Coordination Committee.

AGI, one of the country’s biggest conglomerates, formed Infracorp last year, marking its entry into infrastructure projects, particularly to participate in the government’s private-public partnership (PPP) projects.

The company is also part of the NAIA Consortium that submitted a proposal to rehabilitate and expand the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, along with some of the country’s largest conglomerates.

Moving forward, Tan said the company is looking into other potential infrastructure projects, particularly on transport solutions, in several business districts around Metro Manila and in key growth areas around the country.