DOTC inks P3.81-B MRT maintenance deal with Busan joint venture

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) on Thursday signed a P3.81-billion three-year maintenance deal for the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) system with the joint venture (JV) of Busan Transportation Corp., Edison Development & Construction, Tramat Mercantile, Inc., TMICorp Inc., and Castan Corp.

“We are one step closer to having a safer and more reliable MRT-3 system with our new world-class rail maintenance service provider. With the operator of the Busan railway network in South Korea sharing their technical expertise, the riding public can expect an increase in the number of running trains and the efficiency of operations,” said DOTC Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya.

DOTC said the Busan JV will undertake maintenance works of the rolling stock and signaling system starting Friday.

It added that qualified technical experts, including rolling stock, signaling, and track specialists, from Busan are already carrying out the necessary activities for transition and system assessment.

DOTC said the P3.81-billion contract also covers the general overhaul of 43 coaches over the course of the agreement period, and the total replacement of the signaling system within 24 months.

The state agency said that attempts to bid out the contract in September 2014 and January 2015 both resulted in failure due to the non-participation of bidders. 

"The DOTC resorted to an alternative mode of procurement pursuant to the Government Procurement Reform Act of 2003 in recognition of the urgency to address the railway’s maintenance needs and the system’s core problems of obsolescence and complete wear-and-tear," it said.

The state agency is under pressure to improve the country's electric trains amid public clamor. On Friday, Sen. Grace Poe, who chairs the Senate sub-committee on transport, said it is lamentable that the Aquino administration has decided to keep Abaya in his post considering the sorry state of the MRT.