P3.85-B license plates contract delayed anew

MANILA, Philippines – For the 4th time, the bidding of the P3.85 billion contract for the production and supply of new plate numbers for motor vehicles and motorcycles has been delayed.

“Please be notified that the deadline for submission and opening of bids which was earlier scheduled on April 22 has been moved to May 6,” Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) Undersecretary Jose Perpetuo Lotilla said in a bid bulletin on Tuesday, April 23.

The original schedule for the submission and opening of bids was March 12, but was moved to March 22, then April 8, then April 22, and now to May 6.

The delays are meant to provide interested parties more time to study the project, the agency said, echoing a common reason for delays in the bidding of other projects under the DOTC.

Companies that have inquired about the project include:

• the joint venture between Datarail Corp. and Industrias Samar’t SA
• Marianing & Sons Development Corp.
• Kolonwel Trading
• UTSCH Inc. 
• J. Knieriem BV

The 5-year supply project starts July this 2013 up to June 2018.

Under the Land Transportation Office (LTO) motor vehicle license plate standardization program, the winning bidder would have to supply and deliver 5.23 million pairs of license plates for motor vehicles as well as 9.97 million license plates for motorcycles.

The P2.356 billion budget for motor vehicles and P1.495 billion motorcycles already include P150-worth plate screws and P450-worth stickers.

DOTC secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya earlier said the standardization of license plates for motor vehicles and motorcycles would help address the difficulty in prompt identification of counterfeit plates, use of dilapidated plates, and the common practice of non-replacement of lost plates. – Rappler.com