SHARES in Crown Asia Chemicals Corp. surged on Wednesday after it announced that it will be supplying pipes to the Metro Manila Subway project.
In a disclosure on Wednesday, Crown Asia said that its pipes “had been rigorously tested” by the Department of Transportation. The project is a joint venture of the department with Japanese and Philippine construction companies.
Crown Asia said consultants accredited by the project proponents had conducted visits to its plant “for inspections to observe production processes, warehouses and logistical facilities.”
On the stock market, shares in Crown Asia climbed by 26 centavos or 18.4% to P1.67 apiece.
The P357-billion subway, the first underground railway in the Philippines, will run from Valenzuela City to Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). It will have 17 hop-in and hop-out stations. The 33-kilometer subway’s Ortigas and Shaw Boulevard stations recently broke ground.
Metro Manila Subway is funded by official development assistance administered by the Japan International Cooperation Agency. It is expected to be operational by 2027 to accommodate more than 370,000 passengers daily. It aims to ease Metro Manila traffic congestion and the public’s commuting experience.
Crown Asia said its Crown pipes had been preferred in other infrastructure projects such as North Railway Commuter System, Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3, Metro Rail Transit Line 7, Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway, Cavite-Laguna Expressway, Wawa Water Resources, and NAIA Expressways.
Its pipes were also used in the development of commercial, industrial, residential, institutional, and energy projects and carried across the country.
Crown Asia operates two regional sales depots located in Cebu City and Davao City. — Justine Irish D. Tabile