Malaysian conglomerate teams up with A. Brown; consortium eyes road projects

Malaysia-based infrastructure conglomerate, AlloyMTD has found a consortium partner in locally-listed agribusiness-real estate firm, A. Brown Company. 

 

A. Brown said they entered into the consortion with AlloyMTD's Philippine subsidiary to seek out "a series of infrastructure projects meant to address worsening traffic conditions in key cities."

 

AlloyMTD, through, MTD Philippines, Inc. and A. Brown signed their memorandum of agreement on November 14, but the announcement by A. Brown came only on MOnday.

 

There are two other consortium participants: Private Equity Investment and Development Corporation and Systra Philippines, Inc.

 

MTD Philippines was MTD Manila Expressways, Inc. which was in joint venture with the Philippine National Construction Corporation (PNCC). That joint venture extended the SLEX from its former length of 28 kilometers to 36 kilometers and expanded SLEX from its former breadth of four lanes to eight lanes from the Alabang Viaduct to Sta. Rosa in Laguna. MTD Capital Bhd totally financed that project, according to the Toll Regulatory Board.

 

More recently, MTD Philippines was interested in participating in the Cavite-Laguna Expressway project and the extension of the LRT Line 1 to Cavite.

 

“We aim to fulfill whatever is lacking, hence our recent foray into energy projects to address the inconvenience and high cost of rotational brownouts. We aim to do the same through this partnership with such an established group as MTD — to address chronic infrastructure issues in the Philippines and possibly in the ASEAN region," A. Brown executive vice president Roel Castro said.

 

A Brown Company's Peakpower Energy Inc. has two bunker-fired peaking power plants under a 15-year build-operate-transfer agreements with distribution utilities Peakpower Soccsargen Inc. -- a 20-megawatt plant in General Santos that started operations in November and Peakpower San Francisco's 5-MW plant in Agusan del Sur that will start operations this month.

 

A 10-MW plant in Bukindon is currently in preparation stages.

 

"These projects were established to supplement the shortfall in the electricity supply of the region," the company said.

 

Another subsidiary, Hydrolink Projects Corporation is developing a 26-MW hydropower plant in Surigao del Sur that is scheduled to open in 2017.

 

A P500-million builk water supply project of A Brown in Opol, Misamis Oriental is also underway. It seeks to address the town's need for its independent water supply system. It has been dependent on Cagayan de Oro Water District.

 

MTD built Phase 1 of the P2.5-billion CALABARZON (Cavite Laguna Batangas Rizal and Quezon) Regional Government Center in Calamba, Laguna.  — Kathryn Mae Tubadeza/ELR, GMA News