CLARK FREEPORT – The Manila North Tollways Corp. (MNTC) has revealed that it has successfully renegotiated the terms for its formal takeover of the the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) and that only Pres. Aquino’s final approval is lacking.
Already, MNTC has shelved some P300 million for projects integrating the SCTEX and the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) which is also under MNTC which is the tollways unit of the Metro Pacific Group.
MNTC president and chief executive officer Rodrigo Franco told Punto in a text message that “MNTC and the BCDA (Bases Conversion Development Authority) agreed on a revenue sharing arrangement plus advances that will allow BCDA to service its debt and other requirements.”
The MNTC currently operates the SCTEX but only under an interim operations and management contract. It is paid about P29 million a month to do the job, equivalent to about 70 percent of the monthly revenue of the tollway in 2009.
During the Arroyo administration, MNTC emerged as the lone eligible bidder for the SCTEX operations and management contract under some requirements under some terms of reference (TOR).
MNTC, however, was reported to have asked the TOR to be scaled down, prompting the BCDA to consider possible rebidding of the control over SCTEX.
Under the original TOR, the MNTC was to shoulder expenditures amounting P1.3 billion a year, including debt incurred for construction cost, on the expressway that generates only about P500 million yearly.
”The debt will remain with the BCDA, but they will get cash flow from the SCTEX. MNTC, in turn, will shoulder all future expenses in operating SCTEX,” Franco said.
Franco said that sharing of revenues between MNTC and BCDA would be based on gross revenues.
”MNTC shoulders the operational and capital expenses. In the initial years, BCDA gets the bigger share of up to 60 percent or even 70 percent of revenues,” he said.
Franco noted that “on top of this, BCDA can ask for advances from MNTC. The funds will allow BCDA to service the loan from Japan International Cooperation Agency.”
“In the latter years when the JICA loan payments are lower, BCDA’s revenue share goes down to 20 percent,” he said.
Franco said that only the President’s go signal is being awaited for MNTC’s formal take over of the SCTEX amid plans to remove toll plazas between it and the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) which MNTC also manages to provide “a seamless flow of traffic between the two expressways.”
Franco said some P300 million have been allocated by his firm for the integration of the SCTEX and NLEX.
This, he said, is apart from another P300 million allocated for the rehabilitation of NLEX, he added.
