BCDA open to sell SCTEX stake to MVP Group for upwards of P20 billion

NEW CLARK CITY - The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) on Friday said it was considering selling its remaining stake in the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) to the MVP Group, but the price should be right for this to be realized.

According to BCDA President and Chief Executive Officer Joshua Bingcang, the MVP Group, led by tycoon Manuel Pangilinan, formally made the buyout offer through a letter which was copy furnished to the Department of Finance (DOF) and Malacañang.

“We have a 30-year concession with them. I think we already have eight years done, so the remaining 22 years, they want to prepay all the future, projected future shares of BCDA because we have a 50-50 revenue sharing,” he said during the EJAP-BCDA One Clark Forum.

“At the right price. I was told that if the right price will be offered, then the government can consider it seriously,” he added when asked if the government was open to such a proposal.

Under the current agreement, 50% of the revenues go to the Pangilinan-led SCTEX concessionaire NLEX Corp., while the remaining 50% goes to the BCDA, which still has to service its debt with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for the ¥59.04-billion construction of the SCTEX.

Bingcang said the BCDA collected some P2 billion from the SCTEX in 2023, of which P1 billion was used for debt payments, reflecting a net profit of P1 billion.

“Traffic is growing continuously, so you do the math — if we have 22 years pa, and then at P1 billion ‘yung profit namin, (that’s) P22 billion na ‘yun 'di ba (right), more than the debt,” he told reporters in an interview on the sidelines of the forum.

“More (than P20 billion) kasi kapag P20 billion, puhunan lang ‘yun. Kailangan, you want something for the government, for the public, so more. Normally how much are the returns you would want when you have an investment made? So at least, 'di ba, you have 100% return or double of your investment,” he added.

(More than P20 billion because the P20 billion is just the capital. You should want something for the government, for the public, so more. Normally how much are the returns you would want when you have an investment made? So at least, right, you have a 100% return or double of your investment.)

The SCTEX is a 94-kilometer expressway that traverses Bataan, Pampanga, and Tarlac. The contract to manage, operate, and maintain the project was awarded to NLEX Corp. by the BCDA in October 2015.

NLEX Corp., meanwhile, is a subsidiary of the Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC), which is now in talks to merge with Ramon Ang’s SMC Tollways which operates the South Luzon Expressway, the Skyway Stage 3, the Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR), the NAIA Expressway, and the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEX).

Aside from the SCTEX, NLEX Corp. also operates the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), the Manila-Cavite Toll Expressway (CAVITEX), the Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAX), and the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX), and the NLEX Connector. — DVM, GMA Integrated News