LRTA defers deadline for Line 1 maintenance deal

MANILA, Philippines - The Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) has deferred anew the deadline for the submission of bids for the P423.3-million maintenance contract for Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1) to October.

Jose Jobel Belarmino, chairman of the agency’s Bids and Awards Committee - Rail, said they are moving the deadline for the submission and opening of bids to Oct. 1 instead of Sept. 12 “to enable and afford prospective bidders to thoroughly study the bidding documents and to give them enough time to prepare reasonable bids.”

This is the second time that the agency has postponed the deadline for the submission and opening of bids for the project originally scheduled last Aug. 12.

The deadline was deferred to Sept. 12 to give the new members of the BAC-Rail more time to familiarize themselves with the bidding process.

The LRTA is looking of for a maintenance contractor for the 20.7-kilometer LRT-1 from Baclaran in Pasay City to Roosevelt in Quezon City that is currently being maintained by the group of ComBuilders and Technology (CB&T) PMP Inc., and Gras Sabrocai.

LRT-1 is considered to be the first LRT system in Southeast Asia as it started operations in December of 1983. It now has 21 stations from Baclaran in Pasay City to Roosevelt in Quezon City.

The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) has yet to issue a notice of award to the Light Rail Manila Consortium for the P65 billion LRT-1 Cavite extension project. The Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) preventing the LRTA from transferring the location of the P1.4 billion common station to Trinoma Mall instead of SM City North EDSA that is part of the concession agreement.

Light Rail Manila Consortium, composed of infrastructure giant Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) through MPIC Light Rail Corp. (55 percent), conglomerate Ayala Corp. through AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp. (35 percent), and Macquaire Infrastructure Holdings (10 percent), was the lone bidder for the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) project. 

It offered to pay P9.35 billion to the government to undertake the project under the build-operate-transfer (BOTscheme. The LRT-1 would be extended up to Niog in Bacoor, Cavite.

Earlier, the LRTA also extended the deadline for the submission and opening of bids for the P1.33-billion maintenance contract for LRT-2 to Aug. 22 instead of July 16 to enable and afford the newly designated BAC-Rail the necessary time to evaluate and study all bidding documents.

A total of eight foreign and local companies have expressed interest in the maintenance contract for the LRT-2 running from CM Recto Ave. to the depot at Santolan St. along Marcos Highway.

Interested companies include construction giant DM Consunji Inc., Marubeni Corp. of Japan, Autre Porte Technique Global Inc., Global Epcom Services Inc., Busan Transportation Corp. of Korea, Comm Builders & Technology Phils. Corp., Telefonika Inc. as well as the tandem of Multi-Scan Corp. and Hyundai Rotem Corp. of Korea.

The winning bidder would replace the TSPA consortium consisting of Telefonika, STIV, Pacific and APT Global.

The DOTC has tapped the consortium of Foresight Development and Surveying Company, Soosung Engineering Co. Ltd., and Korea Rail Network Authority for a P240.78 million consulting/engineering services for civil works for the P9.7-billion LRT-2 East extension project.