Ayala Corp. is joining Metro Pacific Investments Corp. in its planned unsolicited proposal to upgrade the glitch-prone Mass Railway Transit Line 3.
Ayala Infrastructure Holdings president and chief executive Rene Almendras said the conglomerate would participate in the proposed unsolicited proposal of Metro Pacific to rehabilitate MRT Line 3.
The terms of the joint venture partnership have not been finalized.
The two companies are also partners in the operations and maintenance of Light Rail Transit Line 1 as well as LRT 1 Cavite Extension project under joint venture company Light Rail Manila Corp.
“We are partners in LRT1 and we think we can make a difference in MRT 3,” Almendras said.
He said the two had existing interest in MRT 3 line, with Ayala Land holding non-voting common shares in the original consortium that built the MRT Line 3.
Metro Pacific also signed a cooperation agreement in 2011 with several groups holding rights and interests in MRT 3, including Metro Rail Transit Corp.,, Metro Rail Transit Holdings Inc., Metro Rail Transit 2 Inc. and Monumento Rail Transit Corp., giving Metro Pacific an option to acquire 48 percent in the system.
Metro Pacific submitted a proposal to the Department of Transportation in 2011 to invest $500 million investment to rehabilitate and upgrade MRT 3.
The Aquino administration, however, rejected Metro Pacific’s offer that involved raising fares for in train system
The government holds a 77-percent economic interest in MRTC through Land Bank of the Philippines and Development Bank of the Philippines after purchasing asset-backed bonds issued by MRTC’s original owners in 2009.
MRT 3, which runs along Edsa from North Avenue in Quezon City to Taft Avenue in Pasay City, serves over 500,000 passengers a day, or beyond its rated capacity of 350,000.
The line has a fleet of 73 Czech-made air-conditioned rail cars.
The Transportation Department in January 2016 signed a P3.8-billion three-year contract with the joint venture of Busan Transportation Corp., Edison Development & Construction, Tramat Mercantile Inc., TMICorp and Castan Corp. to do maintenance works on the rolling stock and signaling system, the most critical maintenance component of MRT 3.