City committee to Rama: Award project to MPTDC

CEBU, Philippines - The Cebu City Committee on Awards has issued a resolution recommending that Mayor Michael Rama award the third Mactan-Cebu bridge project to Metro Pacific Tollways Development Corporation it declared the competitive challenge process meant to solicit other interested parties terminated yesterday.

Lawyer Mary Rose Salvatierra, a member of the city’s Committee on Awards, said the resolution was issued after the period for the Swiss challenge elapsed with no Private Sector Proponents (PSPs) submitting their ‘Expressions of Interest to challenge the P27-billion proposal of MPTDC to construct and manage the bridge.

“Terminate the competitive challenge process and…recommend to the Honorable City Mayor Michael L. Rama to award the project for design, construction, implementation, operation and maintenance of a bridge linking the Island of Mactan, through the Municipality of Cordova, to Mainland Cebu at a certain point in Cebu City, including the construction of the main structure, viaduct, causeway and roadway to the original proponent of the project, Metro Pacific Tollways Development Corporation,” read the committee resolution.

MPTDC is the original proponent of the P27 billion third bridge project.

“We have not received Expressions of Interest from private companies to challenge the proposal of MPTDC to undertake the project that is why the competitive challenge stage is deemed terminated,” Salvatierra said.

She said the Cebu City’s Joint Venture Selection Committee would adopt the joint resolution of the city’s Committee on Awards.

She said she has drafted the resolution of the JVSC and it will be sent to all members for signing today.

Salvatierra, who is also head of the JVSC’s technical working group, said the JVSC would forward the resolution to the Office of the Mayor for approval by Thursday.

“Hopefully the mayor would approve so that we could push through (with) the issuance of the notice of award by December 11,” she said.

Under the project’s terms of reference, the committee is time-bound to award the project within seven days after the deadline of the Swiss challenge if there is no competitive proposal.

In November 10, the JVSC of the Cebu-Cordova Bridge Project endorsed to the Committee on Awards the conduct of a competitive challenge.

Both Cordova and Cebu City government have published on November 18 and November 25 in national papers an invitation for parties to bid and submit proposals.

“In the Invitation to Bid and Submit Comparative Proposals, interested Private Sector Proponents were directed to submit their notarized Expressions of Interest on or before 07 December 2015,” read the resolution.

“Since the Committee on Awards has not received any EOI within the given period, on 08 December 2015, it has resolved to declare the Bidding/Competitive Challenge process terminated and recommended to award the project to the original proponent, Metro Pacific Tollways Development Corporation,” it said. Once the Cebu City Government awards the contract to MPTDC, the JVSC would forward to the City Council the draft Joint Venture Agreement.

Salvatierra said the JVA would be signed by the mayor and the proponent of the project after the City Council would approve it.

Under the draft JVA, MPTDC is given six months to one year to process all permits and acquire road right-of-way from affected property owners

 “So 2017 mag-start ang construction if the draft JVA will hold true. Kay we will also submit man before the year ends to the City Council the JVA for their resolution authorizing the mayor to sign it. So basin ma-change pa ang JVA,” Salvatierra said. – (FREEMAN)