DOTC says bidding for single ticket system to proceed as planned

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) has rejected the request of a Korean consortium to call off the bidding for the P1.72-billion single contactless ticketing system for the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) and Light Rail Transit (LRT) that is scheduled to start today with the opening of the qualification documents.

The DOTC debunked the claim made by Korean-owned Kystek Corp. that the agency has granted the consortium the exclusive right to implement a project similar to the Automatic Fare Collection System (AFCS).

“Contrary to recent reports, the DOTC never approved Kystek’s unsolicited proposal.  Acceptance of an unsolicited proposal requires no less than the Secretary’s authorization,” the DOTC said in a statement.

Kystek vice president Dong-ho Yu earlier claimed in a statement that the company has a pending accepted and approved unsolicited proposal on Unified Ticketing and Clearing System (UTCS) for the MRT and LRT with the DOTC since Nov. 21, 2011.

Kystek, a Philippine based corporation with 40 percent Korean ownership, said the DOTC merely adopted the company’s unsolicited proposal on UTCS including their feasibility studies in proceeding with the competitive bidding on AFCS.

It warned that the DOTC would violate the Republic Act 6957 or the Build Operate Transfer (BOT) law as amended by RA 7718 if it pushes through with the bidding process for the AFCS project.

Under the BOT law, the rules on unsolicited proposal as opposed to competitive bidding, is governed by the Swiss Challenge route wherein an entity who submitted an accepted and approved proposal would be considered as an original proponent who has the right to match any other offers by prospective bidders.