Premier Philippine contractor D.M. Consunji, Inc. (DMCI) signed P12 billion worth of new projects in 2018, raising its order book by 12 percent year-on-year from P24.8 billion to P27.9 billion.

Building and infrastructure contracts accounted for the bulk of the order book at P11.2 billion and P11.1 billion, respectively. Energy projects reached P2.7 billion, while the value of plant and utilities contracts totaled P2.9 billion.

DMCI bagged two notable projects in 2018, which include the first Ikea store in the Philippines and The Estate Makati, the ultra-luxury residential condominium project of SMDC and Federal Land.

Once completed, this Ikea outlet will be the biggest in the world at 65,000 square meters. The Estate Makati, on the other hand, is the first residential building in the country to be constructed using double-slab technology, allowing owners to fully customize the layout of their units.

“Building pioneering structures is at the core of our DNA. We are grateful and excited to be part of these projects,” said DMCI President and CEO Jorge A. Consunji.

In the 1950s, DMCI built the Picache building in Plaza Miranda, which is considered as the first real skyscraper in the Philippines. At that time, the 12-storey structure proved that buildings could go higher than 10 floors.

DMCI also built SM Megamall in the late 1980s. The integrated shopping mall had a total floor area of 311,898 square meters, and is widely credited for driving the “malling” lifestyle in the country.

On a stand-alone basis, DMCI recorded a full-year net income of over P1.6 billion in 2018, a 22 percent jump from P1.28 billion the previous year.