MNTC, BCDA forge 25-year SCTEX deal

MANILA, Philippines - Manila North Tollways Corp. (MNTC), a subsidiary of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., has signed a concession agreement with the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) for the 94-kilometer Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX).

The effectivity of the agreement is subject to procurement of the necessary government approvals and the consent of Japan Bank for International Cooperation/Japan International Cooperation Agency (JBIC/JICA), as well as MNTC’s creditors, among other conditions, MPTC said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange.

Under the agreement, MNTC will manage, operate and maintain the SCTEX for a period of 25 years. The concession can be stretched out a further eight years if the government approves an extension.

MNTC president and chief executive officer Rodrigo E. Franco said with this agreement, the company will become “the largest concessionaire of the country’s longest and most modern expressways.”

BCDA has also assigned to MNTC its rights under the toll operations agreement (TOA), signed with the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB), and includes the right to collect toll.

MNTC will pay BCDA a semi-annual concession fee amounting to the peso equivalent of the yen-denominated JBIC/JICA debt service requirements from 2010 to 2016.

From 2017 to 2043, MNTC will pay, as concession fee, 20 percent of gross revenues from the SCTEX.

MPTC president and chief executive officer Ramoncito S. Fernandez, for his part, said: “The agreement has established for MPTC a stronger platform for implementing its plan to connect the entirety of Mega Manila through a network of expressways.”

MNTC, as concessionaire of the SCTEX, will have overall management and supervision of the toll operations center, toll plazas, and all other related ancillary facilities and equipment.

MNTC, BCDA

It will also provide financial and other resources to run the toll operations. The leading tollway firm will also implement traffic safety and security management program for the entire stretch of the SCTEX on a 24/7 basis.

The agreement also calls for the provision of an adequate patrol system, emergency response and incident management system for the whole stretch of the SCTEX – all on a 24-hour basis – in coordination with appropriate law enforcement agencies.