PALAYAN CITY, Nueva Ecija, Philippines – A giant Malaysian conglomerate which bankrolled the construction of the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) and the Calabarzon Regional Government Center (CRGC) has tied up with the Nueva Ecija provincial government to establish a P1.5-billion, world-class new government center and business hub in this provincial capital in what is considered as the single, biggest Capitol project under the Umali administration.
The mega-project, dubbed the Palayan City Business Hub (PCBH), was unveiled during ground-breaking ceremonies at a 3.4-hectare site in Barangay Singalat at the back of the newly refurbished city hall.
Gov. Aurelio Umali, who conceptualized the mega-project, said it is a joint venture between MTD Philippines, a subsidiary of Malaysian conglomerate Alloy MTD, and the provincial government under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) scheme. The province was the first local government unit (LGU) to enact a PPP Code.
Umali led the ground-breaking rites for the project along with Mayor Adrianne Mae Cuevas, Dato Azmil Khalid, chief executive officer of Alloy MTD Group of Malaysia and head of the Malaysia-Philippines Business Council (MPBC) and MTD Philippines president Isaac David.
The project site was donated to the provincial government by the city government under Cuevas.
The mega-project is labor-intensive and would generate a whopping 13,000 jobs, 10,000 of which in call centers alone, with the rest to come from the operations of the various commercial establishments, the hotel and the government offices.
Alloy MTD, based in Malaysia, is a leading Asian infrastructure conglomerate operating in the global market, with projects in 13 countries, notably the United States, United Kingdom, China, Australia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and Chile.
Aside from infrastructure, MTD‘s track record covers a wide range of operations from civil engineering and construction, manufacturing, energy, port operations, real estate and property development and operation and maintenance.
It has extensive experience in the development of world-class mountain roads, highways, bridges and in geotechnical works, highway maintenance and erosion control.