The comet named FLC-43

Meet Engineer Francis Lloyd Chua, chairman and chief executive officer of Premium Megastructures Inc. (PMI), which specializes in land developments, reclamations, construction of roads, ports, airports and bridges all over the Philippines.

- MARIANNE GO

His preferred mode of visiting and checking on his projects is by helicopter to reduce travel time.

At 43, he is already thinking of retiring even as he recently lit up the Philippine business scene like a streaking comet with his left-field P510 million acquisition of two-thirds of investment holding company Asiabest Group International Inc. or ABG, formerly the AGP Industrial Corp. from Tiger Resort Asia Ltd. He plans to integrate all of his various business interests in infrastructure, shipping, logistics, real estate development, mining, manufacturing and, further into the future--robotics and technology, into another business entity, PremiumLands Corp., and do a backdoor listing.

In the process of consolidating all of his various business interests, Chua has chosen to open up to a select group of journalists to better allow the public and potential future partners and investors a glimpse of where he came from, what he has achieved in his short 43 years of existence and his future ambitious plans.

Among his bold plans in the next five years are participation in the Asian Development Bank's ambitious five-year construction of the 32-kilometer Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge, mainly as an aggregates supplier and logistics provider. The ADB-funded bridge project will connect the province of Cavite to Bataan.

With the interlink bridge connection, Chua plans to develop the Bataan Freeport through his own 235-hectare Bataan Transshipment Hub project at an initial cost of $1.8 billion, all of which will finally create a strong economic corridor and trade hub comprised of the National Capital Region, Region 3 and Region 4A, commonly known as the Calabarzon.