MANILA – Light Rail Transit 1 (LRT-1) operator Light Rail Manila Corporation (LRMC) scored another win for its P24 billion project loan facility as it took home the Transport Deal of the Year in the recent Asset Asian Awards 2017 held in Hong Kong.
LRMC’s project deal was recognized in the Triple A Asia Infrastructure Awards, which highlights the importance of investing in infrastructure development to aid in economic growth. The award was given by the Asset Publishing and Research Ltd., a multi-media company serving the elite community of leading corporate and financial decision makers in Asia.
Signed in February 2016 by LRMC together with local banks Metropolitan Bank & Trust Company, Security Bank Corporation, and Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation, the P24-billion loan facility is allotted to finance the construction of the LRT-1 Cavite extension and rehabilitation of the existing LRT-1 system. The 15-year omnibus loan and security agreement is expected to benefit 300,000 more passengers from the southern cities of Manila.
Majority of the loan or P15.3 billion will be used for the 11.7-kilometer Cavite extension project, which is expected to finish by 2021. The remaining 8.7 billion will be used for the rehabilitation program of the existing line, which runs from Baclaran in Paranaque City to Roosevelt in Quezon City.
LRMC previously won the 2016 Best Project Finance Deal in Southeast Asia in the 10th Annual Alpha Southeast Asia Best Deal and Solution Awards, and Infrastructure Deal of the Year in Asia Pacific in Project Finance International’s 2016 Annual Awards for the same loan facility.
LRMC is a joint venture company of Metro Pacific Investments Corporation’s Metro Pacific Light Rail Corporation (MPLRC), Ayala Corporation’s AC Infrastructure Holdings Corporation (AC Infra), and the Philippine Investment Alliance for Infrastructure’s Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings (Philippines) PTE Ltd. (MIHPL)
