5 vie for MRT-LRT 1-ticket project

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) announced that it has shortlisted five groups for the bidding of the P1.72-billion contract for the automated fare collection system (AFCS) for the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) and Light Rail Transit (LRT).

Notably absent from the list was diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) which was disqualified by the DOTC for its alleged failure to submit certain required components.  

SMC president and chief operating officer Ramon S. Ang said in a text message to The STAR that the conglomerate would challenge the decision of the DOTC.

“We will definitely challenge and provide detailed objections to each of the reasons they gave for our exclusion. We know we are fully compliant and as we always say, remain committed to giving the best and the right bid for government to help jumpstart the economy,” Ang stressed.

SMC submitted qualification documents to the DOTC last April 12 through San Miguel Transport Solutions Consortium composed of Optimal Infrastructure Development Inc., Catchweight

Holdings Inc., Deltacrest Holdings Inc., and Allcard Plastics Philippines Inc. to bid for the project. Its partners include Petron

Corp., Philippine National Bank, Singapore Technologies Electronics Ltd., Korea Railroad Corp., Korail Networks Co. Ltd., and Vix Technology (East Asia) Ltd.

Ang made the statement after the DOTC announced that five of the nine groups that submitted documents for the AFCS project as part of the public private partnerhip (PPP) roll out of the Aquino administration.

“We are pleased to announce that five interested groups have prequalified to bid for the AFCS Project, one of our first PPP offerings.  This means that we are getting closer to identifying who our private sector partner will be in bringing a modern commuting experience to the public,” the DOTC said in a statement.

The companies that were prequalified included the AF Consortium led by Ayala Corp. and infrastructure giant Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) of businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan; Comworks Consortium; E-Trans Solutions Joint Venture Inc.; Megawide-Suyen-Eurolink Consortium; and SM Consortium of retail magnate Henry Sy.

The AF Consortium is composed of BPI Card Finance Corp., MPIC, PLDT’s Smart Communications Inc., Globe Telecom Inc., AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp., and NTT Data Corp. Its partners include Bank of the Philippine Islands, Octopus Transactions Ltd., SMRT International Pte. Ltd., Cubic Transportation Systems (Australia) Pty. Ltd., Accenture, Inc., MSI Global Private Ltd., and Indra Sistemas S.A.

The E-Trans Solutions is composed of Tera Investments Inc., Eastwest Banking Corp., Sagesoft Solutions Inc., Pilipinas Micro-Matrix Technology (PMT Joint Venture) Inc., and Pulsar Avancer Technologie Inc. Its partners include Kentkart EGE Elektronik San. Ve Tic. A.S., Kentkart Marmara Elektronik Turizm San. Ve Tic. A.S., Kentkart Cukurova Elektronik San. Ve Tic. A.S., and JTKC Equities, Inc.

The Megawide-Suyen-Eurolink Consortium is composed of Megawide Construction Corp., Suyen Corp., and Eurolink Network International Corp. while its partners include EZ-Link Pte Ltd, and China National Software and Service Co. Ltd.

The SM Consortium is composed of SM Investments Corp., BDO Capital and Investment Corp., Advanced Card Systems Ltd., and Pentacapital Investment Corp. while partners include SM Retail Inc., BDO Unibank, Inc., and Goldsign Data Company Ltd.

Meanwhile, the Comworks Consortium is composed of Comworks Inc., Philippine Gaming Management Corp., Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp., Acer Inc., Infochamp Systems Corp., and Berjaya Philippines Inc.

The DOTC said the five qualified bidders would have until Aug. 30 to submit their bids for the AFCS project.

“We set this deadline for bid submission to give bidders the maximum amount of time to come up with their best proposals for government without compromising our schedule.  As long as we have the full support and cooperation of the bidders, we will remain on track with our targets,” the agency added.

Aside from SMC, other disqualified bidders included the Lamco Consortium; Mega Lucky United Consortium; and MTD-PRLM Consortium.

In a statement, the DOTC said SMC’s Project Implementation Plan and Project Development Plan did not include certain required components.

On the other hand, Lamco’s nominated consortium member New San Jose Builders for its financial qualification requirement failed to P1-billion minimum as shown by its net worth.

Likewise, the Mega Lucky consortium failed to show a no proof that its members have no unsatisfactory record while MTD-PRLM’s submission lacked proof establishing the required experience of its nominated AFCS operator and its Project Implementation Plan and Project Development Plan failed to show its ability to undertake the project due to missing components.