Building Up the Philippine Construction Industry to Global Standards, According to Edgar Saavedra, Megawide Founder, Chairman and CEO

With projects across construction, infrastructure and solar energy, Megawide is at the forefront of building a brave new tomorrow for the Philippines. Edgar Saavedra, Megawide Construction’s Founder, Chairman and CEO shares his vision.

Edgar Saavedra, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Megawide Construction Corp., is on a mission. He plans to provide 5,000 megawatts of renewable energy within five years by building solar, hydro and wind energy platforms in the Philippines. But Saavedra didn’t get here overnight. With an engineering career spanning over 20 years, he began Megawide in 1997 as a construction company, which quickly grew to build triple A projects such as condominiums, and then infrastructure projects such as airports and the upcoming Manila Subway. And today, Saavedra’s companies, Megawide and Citicore, are in an enviable position to build the very future of the Philippines.

Few entrepreneurs have found success on the scale of what Saavedra has achieved with Megawide boasting of PHP 14.8 billion in revenue, as of 2022. What is the secret to this success? Saavedra credits his company’s pursuit of excellence and a commitment to people.

The Business Manual sat down with Edgar Saavedra to talk about his entrepreneurial journey and how he built the company that is, in many ways, building the Philippines–a “first world Philippines” as Megawide calls it. In this exclusive interview, the 2024 recipient of The Business Manual CEO Awards shares his passion for engineering, his big breaks, and his ambition to provide more for the communities he works in through renewable energy.

‘Understand Everything’

In telling the story of Edgar Saavedra and Megawide Construction Corp., the tale often begins with Saavedra’s business partnership with Michael Cosiquien and the company’s founding in 1997. And yet, Saavedra’s entrepreneurial training began much earlier, with his family.

“I grew up in an environment where both my parents are working in business,” Saavedra recounts. “And then I grew up helping my parents doing business.”

From this early exposure to entrepreneurship, he took up civil engineering In De La Salle University. 

Engineering suited Saavedra. He says, “I think by heart, I'm really an engineer because I like to explore new things. And also, I'm a bit OC [obsessive-compulsive]. I guess I'm an undiagnosed ADHD.

“If I want to explore new things, I try to scrutinize and try to understand everything... In my mind, I'm very preoccupied [on] what I'm trying to solve. So that's my personality, which I think [is suited] for an engineering and construction business.”

Despite this, Saavedra began his studies in electrical engineering before deciding to shift to civil engineering. 

Saavedra explains how keeping an eye on business influenced his decision to shift, saying, “At that time, I was thinking, if I finish my electronics engineering, what business can I do? I can only think of doing a repair shop...”

Almost apologetically, he continues, “So I decided, ‘Okay, I'll just take up civil engineering,’ because I saw a lot of my friends who are, shall I say, wealthy because they have a construction business.” Time would prove Saavedra correct as he is among the Philippines’ 50 wealthiest, according to Forbes.

It was during these early years in De La Sale that Edgar Saavedra met Michael Cosiquien. “We're both classmates. We’re both barkada,” Saavedra says. “We've known each other since the first year of college… In fact, both of us took up a different course. So we both are shiftees. I shifted from electronics engineering to civil. He shifted from industrial to civil engineering.”

“That's where it all started. When we were taking up civil engineering, I was already discussing with him that once we finish our schooling, we want to do construction.”

After graduating, Saavedra worked in a structural design firm for a year before starting his own venture. He says, “And then I invited my friend, my barkada Michael, to start the construction [company]. So that's where and when Megawide was founded.”

Laying the Foundation

With the founding of Saavedra’s and Cosiquien’s Megawide Construction Corp., the duo, like many entrepreneurs, set out to solve pain points–challenges or issues faced by businesses or the customers they serve. By doing so, Saavedra accidentally took on a problem that faced the entire Philippine construction industry.

Saavedra explains the realities of construction in the Philippines, saying, “You know, in Philippine construction, you have problems [with] workers, in terms of technicalities, the training, and the know-how. And then I realized that one of the main problems in the Philippines is the way of doing construction here is very crude. It's quite laid-back.”

With his engineering mindset, Saavedra set out to find a solution. “So I did my research,” he says. “I also did my research by checking what the other countries are doing. And I found out, in construction, especially in concrete–where we are focusing in the business–I realized that the Japanese and the Germans, both countries are strong… They're one of the most advanced.”

From there Saavedra attended exhibitions in Europe and in Asia. He also pursued special studies in Foundation Formworks, in Germany.

In Germany and Japan, Saavedra built bridges with people who could help him bring the technology he needed to the Philippines. He recalls, “in Germany, I met one guy who has a Filipino wife. So he helped us in introducing new technology, new equipment… and trying to assist us and where we can find it. 

“And then at the same time, I also met a Japanese friend... So this guy also introduced me to most of his friends in Japan. And eventually we hired our first Japanese engineers. So that was like 2008, 2009. [He] is still working for us even up to now, [after] more than 15 years.”

Today, Megawide Construction Corp. has built a reputation for quality, which it achieves through its use of the latest in construction technology. In particular, the company pioneered precast technology, which involves casting concrete in a reusable mold for beams, wall panels, or floors, cured in a controlled environment, then transported to the construction site.

Saavedra says, “By putting up new technology, innovating new ways of construction in the Philippines, bringing in new ideas, new technology from the Europeans and Japanese, we are doing the precast technology. We're in fact… the first or the second company in Asia who started this technology.”

Technology and People

From this point, the formula for Megawide Construction’s success was also cast. Saavedra’s investment in technology and people would prove to be the winning combination that would propel the company forward.

Saavedra says, “Even at that time, we were not that big as a construction company. But you can see that the philosophy that we invest, or we put time and money and effort, on technology and on people. So at that time, it's not strategic… But you can see that we already see or have seen the value of the technology and the people. 

“Because in the end, the construction company that we have now, we have a total of 3,500 employees. And the challenge is to bring these people to the next level.”

Multiple, Small Wins

While it’s clear that Megawide’s competitive edge was in its technology and its people, how did the company go from being a mid-sized construction firm to one building infrastructure projects? How did it achieve such a large scale in such a short span of time?

Saavedra says, “I would say that whatever that we are right now, it's a result of many multiple small wins. It can be small, medium, big wins. It's not a one-time-big-time [win].”

The first win that Saavedra credits for setting Megawide Construction on its trajectory was the first client who trusted the young company to build their first high-rise building. He also names SM Development Corporation (SMDC) for awarding them not just one project, but multiple projects.

That win from SMDC, in turn, led Megawide Construction Corp. to hold an initial public offering (IPO) in 2011 because of the trust displayed by the developer in Megawide. 

“So that's one milestone which led us to the IPO,” Saavedra explains, “because when we were doing the IPO, we have the huge order book, especially from SMDC at that time.”

That same year, Megawide built its precast facility in Taytay, Rizal. The facility is one of the largest in Southeast Asia.

From 10,000 Classrooms to Nation-Building Infrastructure

More wins came down the road. One that surprised many in the industry was the PPP (Public-Private Partnership) for School Infrastructure Project. In this project, Megawide Construction was contracted by the government to fund, design and build 10,000 classrooms in 1,700 barangays in Regions 2, 3 and 4.

“After we were listed,” Saavedra says of the 2011 IPO, “we were able to participate in doing PPP projects like the 10,000 classrooms. So we funded, we designed, and we construct.”

Why was this project special? Saavedra explains, “First, it was the first PPP project of the government where most of the private companies were very skeptical in participating. Second, all the builders, all the big construction companies at that time, begged off. They declined.