MANILA - PLDT Inc on Friday said majority of the proceeds from the sale and leaseback of around 6,000 towers would be used to pay debts.

This, after Chairman Manny Pangilinan announced in a briefing that the telco is receiving north of P50 billion in aggregate bids for the towers.

PLDT, which reported a net income of P30.2 billion in 2021, earlier said it would sell towers to improve cash flow and reduce debt.

"The proceeds from the sale will be largely used to pay down debt," PLDT said in a disclosure to the stock exchange.

• PLDT says bids for telco tower sale higher than P50 billion
• PLDT posts P30.2-billion telco core net income in 'record-breaking' 2021v

The total 6,000 tower portfolio will be divided into 2 with 3,000 towers each, which will be awarded to the winning bidder.

PLDT president and CEO Al Panlilio said most bidders were large foreign players who are looking at setting up a common tower business in the Philippines.

A decision to award the towers to the winning bidders could be made by the second quarter of 2022, the company said.

The government is pushing for the common tower policy to expand network coverage in the country, especially in the unserved and underserved areas.

• Telcos urged to take 'full advantage' of common tower initiative: DICT

The Department of Information and Communications Technology has tapped common tower builders to jumpstart the initiative.

Former DICT chief Eliseo Rio in 2018 said the government wants 50,000 towers built in a span of 5 years.

• Chavit Singson's LCS Group rolls out first activated common tower
• Telco tower builder says completes 5th common tower, Globe to get first dibs

RELATED VIDEO:

Watch more in iWantv or TFC.tv