3 Japanese firms eye Subic project

Three Japanese construction firms have submitted bids for the construction of the $215-million Subic Bay Port project being funded by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) chairman Felicito Payumo said the three groups of Japanese firms which submitted tender documents to the SBMA bids and awards committee were Toyo Corp. and Kawasaki Corp.; Penta Ocean Construction Ltd. together with Towa Corp., Shimizu Corp. and Mitsubishi Corp.; and Nishimatsu Construction Co. Ltd.

Towa Corp. is actually a semi-conductor company. Its subsidiary, Toyo Engineering Corp. is engaged in the design, engineering, equipment procurement, construction, test operations and technical guidance in varied large-scale industries.

Kawasaki Corp., on the other hand, is engaged in heavy industries and construction.

Penta Ocean Construction Ltd., which leads another group, specializes in marine-related engineering projects such as land reclamation and dredging. The firm is also into the construction of skyscrapers and uses technology to increase a building’s resistance to earthquakes.

Mitsubishi is into machinery, planning development, coordination and construction of large-scale projects ranging from power generation, chemical and steel plants, shipbuilding, construction equipment and real estate development while Shimizu Corp. offers construction consulting services on technology, policy information and communication.

Payumo said the opening of the bid envelopes for the financial documents is scheduled on June 21 and the awarding of the contract is will be on Aug. 26.

Construction for Phase One is expected to start by Nov. 11. The total handling capacity of the completed port would be 900,000 TEUs.