San Miguel Corp. (SMC) said Friday its Korean partners are crucial to completing major Philippine infrastructure projects.
“Our Korean partners play a crucial role in advancing San Miguel’s major infrastructure projects that help fuel our country’s economic growth, including in sectors like infrastructure, power and water utilities,” SMC president and chief executive Ramon Ang said.
“We look forward to sustaining and expanding this partnership as we pursue more nation-building initiatives,” he said.
South Korean Ambassador Lee Sang-hwa recently visited the Metro Rail Transit Line 7 (MRT-7) project in Quezon City being built by SMC.
The MRT-7 team toured Lee around its depot in Greater Lagro, Quezon City where the ambassador saw first-hand how SMC is using Korean technology in implementing the game-changing mass rail project.
“Ambassador Lee’s visit to our MRT-7 facilities highlights our partnership with Korean engineers and technology. This project, once operational, will serve as a symbol of the enduring friendship between the Philippines and South Korea,” Ang said.
SMC is working with Korean national railway operator, Korea Railroad Corp. (Korail), while another Korean firm, Hyundai Rotem, is supplying the trainsets for MRT 7—a 22.8-kilometer railway that connects Quezon City to San Jose del Monte City, Bulacan.
Korail runs the various train lines in South Korea which crisscross different regions and cities as well as metropolitan areas and commuter services.
MRT 7, with a capacity to serve up to 850,000 passengers daily when fully operational, is highly anticipated for its role in improving urban transit and decongesting Metro Manila.
SMC also teamed up with Korea Water Resources Corp. (K-Water) for the operation and maintenance of the 218-megawatt Angat hydroelectric power plant in Angat, Bulacan, and for the Bulacan Bulk Water Supply Project that provides potable water to Bulacan’s water districts at the lowest rates.
SMC won the public bidding for the NAIA modernization project, with Incheon International Airport Corp. (IIAC) as its technical partner.
“I am very glad that San Miguel, an esteemed company here in the Philippines, has reliable and strong partnerships with Korean engineers. The construction of the MRT-7, for one, will significantly contribute to enhancing the mobility of Filipinos here in Quezon City and Bulacan,” Lee said.
Lee also inspected the depot’s training facility, where MRT-7 operators and traffic controllers practice using a train simulator bought by SMC from Seoul. In July last year, SMC also sent 40 of its cadet engineers to train under the supervision of Korail.