According to Metro Star Express Office acting general manager Mario Miranda, the two foreign consortia which are represented in the Philippines by financing institutions are both in the railway construction business and have already transportation projects in the Asian region.
But sources said Metro Rail Transit Corp. (MRTC), which constructed phase one of MRT 3 is expected to question the planned bidding in court and seek a restraining order. MRTC is a consortium composed of the Ayala group, Fil-Estate, Greenfields, Anglo Phil and Ramcar, among others.
MRTC spokesperson Paul Daza said the original build-lease-transfer (BLT) agreement with government covering the first phase guarantees that MRTC would implement the extension project. "The plan to auction off the extension project is ill-advised because the original BLT agreement grants MRTC legal rights to carry out the extension of the line. And we are prepared to seek judicial remedies to protect those rights," he said.
Negotiations between the MRT consortium which constructed the first phase of MRT 3 and the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) failed following disagreement regarding the project cost, among other issues. DOTC operates EDSA MRT under a lease from MRTC.
The consortium was given the first crack at undertaking the second phase of the project so as to ensure a smooth connection with the first phase.
Miranda revealed that the DOTC no longer had any communication with the MRT consortium that built phase one, especially after news came out about the deadlock and after President Arroyo’s announcement that Phase 2 should be bid out.
The main stumbling block during the negotiations was the project cost. DOTC wanted $200 million for the second phase excluding the cost of the light rail vehicles while the consortium wanted $218 million.
Miranda said the negotiation reached an impasse on 13 issues. "Aside from not agreeing on the project cost, we also disagreed on the basic concept of the project. DOTC wanted the build-transfer scheme while the MRTC consortium proposed a built-lease-transfer (BLT) scheme similar to the first phase," he revealed.
But the DOTC has yet to submit the terms of reference (TOR) for the bidding to the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) which has to approve it.
The TOR prepared by the department specifies, among other things, that Phase of 2 MRT 3 which will be undertaken using the build-transfer (BT) scheme should be comparable to Phase 1.
DOTC Undersecretary Wilfredo Trinidad said the ‘three envelope system’ will be used during the bidding for MRT 3 phase two. The first envelope will contain the document for the prequalification of the bidder while the second and third will contain the financial and technical proposals, respectively.
MRT 3 phase two is supposed to bridge the first phase and LRT 1 in Manila. It will extend the P26.2 billion ($655 million) MRT 3 first phase up to Monumento in Caloocan for a distance of about five kilometers. The first phase of MRT 3 spans 17.8 kilometers from North Avenue in Quezon City to Taft Avenue in Pasay City.
The construction of the $900,000 elevated walkway project that will actually link MRT3 and LRT 1 will begin in a few weeks’ time. This project is expected to be finished by March 31 next year. It is funded by MRTC from savings realized from the first phase, Miranda said.