Top property developers remain keen on FTI

MANILA, Philippines - Top property developers Robinsons Land Corp., Empire East Land & Holdings Inc. and Century Properties Group remain interested in bidding for the 103-hectare Food Terminal Inc. property in Taguig City, which is among the big-ticket items that will be privatized by the Aquino administration this year.

In separate text messages, RLC, Century Properties and Empire East confirmed their interest in vying for one of the biggest industrial complexes in Metro Manila.

“Yes, definitely. We have always expressed our interest in it since the beginning,” said RLC president Frederick D. Go.

Century Properties chairman and founder Jose E.B. Antonio said: We earlier gave an unsolicited proposal. We’ll revisit it once we see the terms of reference.”

Empire East president Anthony Charlemagne C. Yu said the company remains open to bidding for the property, which is suitable for mixed-use development. “We’re waiting for guidelines and terms of reference to be released,” he said.

The Aquino government has put the FTI property back on the auction block after three failed biddings and three years of delay.

The government will release this week the invitation to bid which will include the parameters of sale such as the minimum target selling price and pre-qualified requirements. The transaction would be in cash payment.

Other major property developers like Ayala Land, SM Group and Filinvest Land have expessed interest in the FTI land, which is home to more than 300 companies.

The FTI property provides industrial and commercial lots for medium-to-long-term leases and industrial buildings with standard-sized stalls for office, warehouse or small scale processing operations.

Of the 103-hectare property, the government will bid out 74 hectares. The government will retain the rest of the property for various purposes.