San Miguel, PAGCOR ink 25-year lease for Nayong Pilipino property

San Miguel Infrastructure and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) have inked a 25-year lease contract for the 15-hectare Nayong Pilipino property in Pasay City, which includes the private firm developing a corporate office for the gaming operator.

Under the lease agreement, San Miguel is also set to develop a 40,000-square-meter office building for PAGCOR which will rise on a two-hectare portion of the property. It is valued at P2.45 billion — P2 billion for the building construction, and P450 million for 15,000 square meters of fit-out space.

“For many years, PAGCOR has operated across various rented locations, with our employees spread out and often working under less-than-deal conditions,” PAGCOR chairman and chief executive officer Alejandro Tengco said in an emailed statement on Monday.

“While we have always managed to deliver on our mandates, we’ve long dreamed of a day when we could bring everyone together under one roof — a place where we could foster a stronger sense of community, collaboration, and shared purpose,” he added.

San Miguel is set to lease the remaining 13 hectares of the property for its initiatives, which will mostly include infrastructure to complement airport requirements, as the group operates the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), the country’s main gateway.

The lease agreement was signed last Thursday, December 12, during which San Miguel Corp. chairman and chief executive officer Ramon Ang turned over nearly P100-million worth of checks representing advance rentals and security deposits.

“Our goal is to maximize the potential of this property for the public’s benefit. The new PAGCOR headquarters will be a key part of this plan, providing a modern space to support their crucial role in funding government programs that uplift the lives of many Filipinos,” Ang was quoted as saying.

The New NAIA Infra Corp., which is made up of San Miguel Holdings Corp., RMM Asian Logistics Inc., RLW Aviation Development Inc., and Incheon International Airport Corp., took over NAIA on September 14, 2024.

To recall, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board, headed by then-President Rodrigo Duterte, in November 2016 approved the New Nayong Pilipino at Entertainment City Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Project.

The P1.47-billion project was set to be a tourism-oriented facility which would have the private partner build, operate, and maintain the project with a cooperation period of 23 years, but it did not come into fruition. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News