Megawide Construction Corp. is indefinitely postponing the initial public offering (IPO) of its real estate unit, PH1 World Developers, after securing massive housing mandate that has lured a fresh wave of private investment interest.

Megawide Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Edgar Saavedra said the infrastructure giant is pivoting its strategy following its P10 billion agreement with the Home Development Mutual Fund, commonly known as the Pag-IBIG Fund.

Under the deal, the state-run pension fund will subscribe to perpetual preferred shares in Megawide Dreamrise Residences, a wholly owned subsidiary, to finance the construction of at least 7,000 affordable housing units over the next three years.

Saavedra said the infusion of capital and the scale of the project have shifted the company’s financing priorities.

While a public listing for PH1 remains a possibility in the long narrative, the immediate need for an IPO has dissipated as strategic partners return to the negotiating table.

Saavedra noted that investors who previously avoided the sector due to perceived bubble in middle-income condominiums are now intrigued by the guaranteed demand inherent in the Pag-IBIG partnership.

The agreement addresses a bottleneck in the Philippine property market: a massive backlog in mass housing. Most Filipinos remain priced out of the traditional condominium market, where units typically retail between ₱5 million and ₱8 million.

By focusing on the affordable segment, Megawide is tapping into more resilient demographic while solving Pag-IBIG’s primary challenge of deploying its capital into completed projects. Saavedra described the pension fund as having significant liquidity but a lack of partners capable of executing at scale.

To support this aggressive rollout, Megawide is preparing to spend between ₱1 billion and ₱2 billion to establish new precast manufacturing facility. This expansion is designed to bolster the company’s Precast and Construction Solutions unit, which will supply the Pag-IBIG projects handled directly by the parent firm.

The housing mandate is expected to significantly pad the company’s financials. Saavedra estimated the 7,000-unit commitment could add ₱20 billion to Megawide’s construction order book, potentially pushing the total to a record high of between ₱70 billion and ₱80 billion.