DOTC vows to speed up bidding of LRT 1 extension project

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) said Monday, December 2 it will speed up the bidding of the P64.9-billion Light Rail Transit (LRT) 1 Cavite extension project, the biggest infrastructure deal under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) program.

“The only delay was in the schedule of the NEDA (National Economic and Development Authority) board meeting. Otherwise, we are still following the same four- to six-month timeline from obtaining approval to setting the bid submission deadline,” DOTC Spokesperson Michael Arthur Sagcal said in a statement.

Sagcal said DOTC will adopt the single-stage bidding for the railway project to cut down the whole process by two months.

“We will adopt the single-stage bidding, and we will set the bid submission date in the earlier part of Q2 (second quarter) 2014.”

Under this type of bidding, interested groups will submit prequalification documents and their technical and financial proposals at the same time.

The LRT 1 extension project was one of the PPPs approved by the NEDA board on November 21. The board approved the project’s revised terms, which increased its cost to P64.9 billion from P60 billion.

An invitation to bid will be published on Tuesday, December 3 to start the bidding process.

The project will extend LRT 1 by 11.7 kilometers from Baclaran station in Pasay City to Bacoor in Cavite. It will also involve the operation and maintenance of the entire LRT 1 system for a 32-year concession period.

The 2014 bidding will be the second for the project after the first held last August was declared a failure. – Rappler.com