MGS Construction Inc., the eighth firm to express its intent to build common towers in the country, said Monday it plans to invest at least P2.5 trillion to put up as much as 500 common towers in the country.

Under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) MGS signed with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), the company expressed its intent to serve as a common tower provider.

DICT expects the company to build up to 500 common towers. “So I guess we’ll be able to meet the demand of 500 towers,” MGS president Jerry Navarette said in a press conference in Quezon City.

MGS is the eighth company to sign an MOU with DICT, after ISOC ECP Infrastructures Inc., Singapore’s ISON ECP Tower Pte. Ltd., IHS Towers, China Energy Engineering Corp., Malaysia’s edotco Group, RT Telecom Sdn. Bhd., and Aboitiz InfraCapital.

The DICT said it is set to sign an MOU with American Towers next week.

MGS noted the construction of common towers will depend on several factors. “Depends on how much, how many sites we’ll be able to identify, and depends also on how many businesses we can close with the two or three telcos so we can roll out,” said Navarette.

Incorporated in 1975, MGS is primarily engaged in trucking, construction, and building materials.

“Since then the company has grown to become a large venture to focus not only on the construction of houses but also in the construction of buildings, malls, and construction of other infrastructure services,” said Navarette.

“With our proven construction experience, we’re confident that we will have a productive partnership with the DICT in building common towers,” he said.

The government is bent on implementing a common tower policy to reduce the cost of telecommunications services by freeing telcos from costly expenditures in building their own towers or cell sites.

The towers will be shared by incumbent telco operators PLDT Inc. and Globe Telecom Inc., as well as the third telco player or the Mislatel Consortium.

MGS will first have to sign agreements with the three telcos before a separate memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the partner telco and the DICT is signed.

“Once they get business from a telco, we will come up with MOA with MGS specifically on the terms of the contract,” said DICT Acting Secretary Eliseo Rio.

“The DICT or the government will take care of the permits for these towers. We will help with the site acquisition,” he added. —VDS, GMA News