Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 1 FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—The government is set to award two massive Public-Private Partnership (PPP) contracts—for a P65-billion railway from Manila to Cavite and a P35.4-billion toll road south of Metro Manila—to help move the administration’s keystone infrastructure projects forward, an official said.
PPP Center Executive Director Cosette Canilao, in a text message, said the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) had approved the bid of Ayala Corp. and Metro Pacific Investments Corp.’s Light Rail Manila Consortium to build the Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1) to Cavite.
Light Rail Manila, the only group to make an offer for LRT-1 after six other parties did not submit bids on May 28, offered a premium of P9.35 billion.
Neda’s approval, required since only one bid was submitted, paved the way for the award of the project by the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC).
“The BAC [bids and awards committee of the DOTC] needs to convene and recommend an award to the implementing agency head,” Canilao said.
She also noted that the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) was still evaluating three bids for the 47-kilometer Cavite-Laguna Expressway, where Ayala Corp and Aboitiz Land Inc.’s Team Orion made the highest premium offer at P11.659 billion.
A premium offer means the amount goes straight to the government and comes on top of the project cost.
Canilao, a nonvoting member of the bids and awards committee, said they were readying an award possibly by “next week” for the Cavite-Laguna Expressway.
San Miguel Corp., which was disqualified days before the opening of the bids, said it would pursue legal alternatives so that its offer, which turned to be the highest at P20.11 billion, would be considered. San Miguel and Indonesia’s Citra Group operate the South Luzon Expressway (SLEx), which would connect to the Cavite-Laguna Expressway.
The LRT-1 extension project involves the construction of an 11.7-km track from the end of LRT Line 1 at the Baclaran terminal to the Niyog station in Bacoor, Cavite. Most of the structure, or a 10.5-km stretch, would be elevated and 1.2 km would be at street level.
The railway extension is expected to be completed by 2020, Metro Pacific president Jose K. Lim said earlier. The winning bidder will operate the entire LRT-1 system for a period of 32 years, including the construction phase.
The Cavite-Laguna Expressway project involves the financing, design and construction, as well as operation and maintenance, of a four-lane highway that will connect the Manila-Cavite Expressway (Cavitex) and the SLEx.
The government has so far awarded seven PPP projects. These include two toll roads—the Daang Hari-SLEx link won by Ayala Corp. and the Naia Expressway bagged by San Miguel.
It also rolled out two school infrastructure projects and the modernization of the Philippine Orthopedic Center which were won by Megawide Construction Corp., and the Mactan-Cebu International Airport bagged by Megawide along with India’s GMR Infrastructure.
For railways, the automated fare collection system for Metro Manila’s railways was won by the consortium of Ayala Corp. and Metro Pacific, which is led by Manuel V. Pangilinan.
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