DMCI completes sale of PIDC stake to SMC

MANILA, Philippines - The DMCI Group has successfully completed the sale of its stake in Private Infra DevCorp. (PIDC) to San Miguel Corp. for P1.83 billion.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, DMCI Holdings said it has concluded the sale of its 1.498 million shares in PIDC to San Miguel unit Rapid Thoroughfares Inc.  The shares represent 25.11 percent of PIDC.

PIDC is the concessionaire of the Tarlac-Pangasinan La Union Expressway or Tplex, the new expressway in central Luzon which significantly reduces travel time to and from Manila.

DMCI officials said they decided to sell the stake to SMC because the latter made a good offer.

With the purchase of additional shares, SMC now owns 70.11 percent of the Tplex concessionaire.

According to SMC, the 88.5 kilometer Tplex has two-lanes and covers Tarlac to Pangasinan and La Union.

The expressway was inaugurated by President Benigno S. Aquino III in December 2013.

As administrator of the toll project, SMC, through the PIDC, provides management services, toll collection, traffic safety and security management, toll road maintenance and other related services.

The entire length of the tollway has nine exits – La Paz in Tarlac City, Victoria, Gerona, Paniqui and Moncada in Tarlac; Rosales, Urdaneta City, and Pozorrubio in Pangasinan, and Rosario in La Union.

TPLEX, one of several infrastructure projects in SMC’s infrastructure portfolio and its first greenfield tollway project, connects the central and northern Luzon provinces to Manila and beyond through the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway and the North Luzon Expressway.

Among SMC’s other infrastructure projects include the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Expressway and the NLEX and SLEX Connector Road Project.