DOTC sees delay in award of 2 projects

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) sees a slight delay in the award of two major public private partnership (PPP) projects auctioned last month as it continues to carefully evaluate the financial bids submitted by proponents.

The two projects are the P1.72-billion Automatic Fare Collection System (AFCS) and the P17.5- billion Mactan Cebu International Airport expansion project.

Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya said the DOTC has yet to issue a notice of award for the single ticketing project for the Light Rail Transit (LRT) and the Metro Rail Transit (MRT).

 â€œWe haven’t awarded the AFCS project yet,” Abaya said.

The agency’s bids and awards committee (BAC) was supposed to announce the winner for the AFCS project last Dec. 23 but disqualified bidder E-Trans Solutions Joint Venture Inc. filed a motion for reconsideration and is seeking the opening of its financial bid.

It would be recalled that the tandem of conglomerate Ayala Corp. and infrastructure giant Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) submitted the best bid for the project last Dec. 9.

The AF Consortium submitted a negative bid of P1,088,103,900 for the Automated Fare Collection System (AFCS) project or P103,900 better than the negative P1,088,000,000 bid of the SM Consortium of retail magnate Henry Sy. The Comworks-Berjaya Consortium submitted a bid of P2,050,090,300.

DOTC spokesperson Michael Arthur Sagcal said the agency is also unlikely to make an award for the P17.5-billion Mactan Cebu International Airport expansion project today.

“The Mactan-Cebu project will not be awarded on Monday as the financial evaluation is still ongoing and will not be finished by then,” Sagcal said in a text message over the weekend.

The GMR Infrastructure of India – Megawide consortium submitted the highest bid of P14.404 billion for the project last Dec. 12 followed by the Filinvest – CAI Consortium with P13.999 billion, and Premier Airport Group of SM Group of retail magnate Henry Sy with P12.5 billion.

The MPIC-JGS Airport consortium led by infrastructure conglomerate Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) of businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan and JG Summit Holdings of taipan John Gokongwei submitted a bid of P11.23 billion while

AAA Airport Partners led by the conglomerate Ayala Group and Cebu-based Aboitiz Land forwarded a bid of P11.088 billion.

The San Miguel Corp.-Incheon Airport consortium submitted a bid of P9.05 billion while the Lopez group’s First Philippine Airports submitted the lowest bid of P4.7 billion.

However, second best bidder – the Filinvest Group of taipan Andrew Gotianun – has questioned the capability of the highest bidder to undertake the project citing the alleged financial woes of its Indian partner.

The project would modernize the country’s second-largest aviation hub with the construction of a new world-class international passenger terminal building with an annual capacity of eight million passengers and at the same time expand the existing terminal building with a capacity of 4.5 million and has been operating at over-capacity with 6.7 million passengers since 2012.

Jose Perpetuo Lotilla, DOTC undersecretary and chaiman of the agency’s BAC, said the government would carefully evaluate the capacity of the bidders to undertake the project.

 â€œWe will of course thoroughly evaluate any point raised as part of the final process before making any award,” Lotilla said in a text message.

The PPP-Center earlier said at least 15 major infrastructure projects worth over P222 billion are expected to be awarded before the term of President Aquino ends in June 2016.

The 15 projects include the P64.9-billion Light Rail Transit line 1 Cavite extension project, the P35.4-billion Cavite – Laguna expressway project, the P29.83-billion Bulacan Bulk Water supply project, the P17.5-billion Mactan – Cebu international airport expansion project, the P16.28-billion PPP for School Infrastructure Project (Phase 2), the P15.92-billion operation and maintenance (O&M) of the Laguindingan Airport, and the P15.52-billion Ninoy Aquino International Airport expressway.

Other projects are the P8.86-billion PSIP-2, the P5.98-billion modernization project for the Philippine Orthopedic Center, the P5.08 billion Integrated Transport Services (ITS), the P2.34- billion O&M of the New Bohol (Panglao) airport, the P2.01-billion Daang Hari – South Luzon expressway link road, and the P1.72-billion AFCS project, the P683.7-million cold chain systems, and the O&M of LRT-2.