The Metro Manila Subway Project (MMSP) Contract Package (CP) 104 is seen as an opportunity for local infrastructure and engineering conpanies to showcase their capabilities.

The project, funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), signals a major step in the country’s journey towards First-World status, addressing urban traffic congestion and serving as a catalyst for growth.

JICA’s sponsorship of the MMSP is also an affirmation of the country’s strong post-pandemic economic recovery and regional ascension.

For the joint venture’s Filipino partner Megawide Corporation, CP-104 is opening significant opportunities to mobilize its vertically-integrated construction and engineering services and solutions.

“We are an infrastructure developer with engineering and innovation at our core. This positions us to offer more operational and cost efficiencies for these types of projects,” said Megawide Chairman and CEO Edgar Saavedra.

He added that, “By using the right technology and applying our vertical integration, we can deliver greater value – not just for our partners – but also for the government and the Filipino people.”

Megawide claims to be the largest vertically-integrated infrastructure and engineering firm in the country.

Apart from its construction unit, Megawide also has business units focused on technologies such as precast, which operates one of the biggest and most advanced facilities the Southeast Asian region.

Precast solutions is an emerging growth segment for the Company, fast expanding its share to 10 percent of Megawide’s aggregate construction revenues in the first six months of 2022 from around 5 percentover the past three years.

Given the higher margins from this business, the increasing contribution is expected to further shore up Megawide’s profitability in the immediate to long-term.

“Precast and other innovative methodologies are increasingly vital in our industry as we take on more and increasingly complex infrastructure projects. We are seeing the practical application of our vertical integration in large infrastructure projects such as MMSP and we are confident it can be replicated in other projects too,” said Saavedra.

To serve the unique requirements of the MMSP, the Company’s existing precast plant will have an entirely new line dedicated to the production of CP-104’s tunnel lining segment and, prospectively, may also serve other portions of the MMSP.

This facility will be used by joint venture company between Megawide and Tokyu Construction’s Tunnel Prefab Corporation.

The company recently inaugurated its second precast plant to expand its capacity for more modular designs, such as walls and columns, required for vertical developments and affordable housing segments Its original plant caters to more customized molds and is best suited for horizontal infrastructure projects, producing parapets and half slabs, which were used for LRT-1 and Skyway Stage 3, respectively.

“These two plants will augment our total precast capacity and complement each other to ensure efficiency, diversity, and speed-to-market in our operations,” said Megawide Executive Vice-President for Precast and Construction Solutions Unit Markus Hennig.