Construction company and real estate developer D.M. Wenceslao and Associates Inc. said it submitted an unsolicited proposal to the government to build a subway underneath Edsa, which is different from a Japan-sponsored underground project.
“We submitted a proposal for the subway here in Metro Manila. But [it would have a] different route. It’s under Edsa,” D.M. Wenceslao chairman Delfin Wenceslao said Monday.
Wenceslao said the company’s proposed subway would have four to five stations that would connect Trinoma Mall in North Ave. in Quezon City and Mall of Asia Complex in Pasay City.
“The mess is in Edsa. We want to solve the problem in Edsa. It will not be in conflict with the government’s [subway project],” he said.
Wenceslao said the proposal was submitted to the National Economic and Development Authority in the second half of 2017.
Metro Rail Transit Line 3 currently serves half a million passengers a day along Edsa from North Ave. in Quezon City to Taft Ave. in Pasay City.
The Philippines and the Japanese government earlier signed the first tranche of the official development assistance loan for the P355.6-billion Metro Manila Subway Project which would not follow the Edsa route.
The Philippines’ first subway would span 30 kilometers, with 14 stations from Mindanao Ave. in Quezon City to Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Parañaque City, with a provision for a 5-km. extension and two additional stations to connect with Light Rail Transit Line 1. It is expected to reduce commuting time from Quezon City to the airport to less than 40 minutes.”©
Dubbed by some as the project of the century, works for the project were scheduled to start within the year. Partial operations for the first three stations were expected by 2022, while the whole system was targeted to be fully operational by 2025.
The project is expected to serve 370,000 commuters in its opening year.”©
D.M. Wenceslao earlier said it planned to raise up to P17.8 billion in proceeds from the sale of 679.2 million common shares with an over allotment option for 101.876 shares at an offer price of P22.90 apiece.
The company plans to conduct the share sale in May.
D.M. Wenceslao plans to spend P10.9 billion in 2018 to 2020 to finance the construction of nine projects.
The company said of the nine projects, three are residential that would provide a total salable floor area of 88,000 square meters and six commercial developments that would add 280,000 sqm of leasable area.
All nine projects, which include the group’s first residential development Pixel Residences, are slated for completion over the next five years.
The company said that as of Dec. 31, 2017, it completed seven investment properties, six of which are located in Aseana City including Aseana One, Aseana Two, Aseana Powerstation Building, Aseana Town Center, Aseana Square and S&R, with a total leasable floor area of 59,000 sqm.
D.M. Wenceslao owns 57 hectares of land in Metro Manila, mostly in the 110-hectare Aseana City, one of the country’s largest and fastest-growing mixed-use business districts.
