LRT-1 Cavite rail bidding delayed anew

MANILA, Philippines – A bidding process involving the biggest infrastructure project of the Aquino administration is postponed for the 3rd time.

The deadline for the submission and opening of bids for the extension of the Light Rail Transit Line-1 (LRT-1) from Pasay City all the way to Bacoor in Cavite has been deferred anew.

The Department of Transportation and Communication’s (DOTC) special bids and awards committee moved the deadline for the P60 billion LRT-1 extension, operations and maintenance project to August 15 instead of July 30.

The original deadline was last May 27, then it was moved to July 17, then July 30.

DOTC undersecretary Jose Perpetuo Lotilla, who heads the committee in-charge, said in a July 26 general bid bulletin that the two-week extension extension would give the bidders enough time to finalize their proposals.

“In order to allow bidders ample time to prepare their bid proposals after the release of the concession agreement, please be notified that the bid proposal submission date is hereby extended to August 15,” he stated in the bulletin.

In November 2012, the DOTC committee has cleared the following business groups to proceed with the bidding process:

• Light Rail Manila Consortium (Metro Pacific Investments Corp (MPIC) and Ayala Corp) 
• MTD-Samsung Group (MTD Capital Bhd. and Samsung C&T Corp)
• San Miguel Infrastructure Resources Inc. (San Miguel Infra Resources Inc., GS Engineering and construction Corp. and POSCO Engineering and Construction Co Ltd)
• DMCI Holdings Inc. (with Marubeni Corp. and Sistema Tranporte Collectivo Metrorey)

Lotilla identified DMCI as one of the two bidders that asked for an extension. He did not name the other one.

Of the total project cost, the government is accessing a P30-billion concessional loan from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for the acquisition of 39 new light rail vehicles (LRVs) for the project. 

An MPIC executive has once asked for more transparency in the bidding process.

The rail project

The Cavite extension project would increase the span of LRT-1 to 32.4 kilometers from 20.7 kilometers with a new south endpoint in Niog, Bacoor, Cavite instead of Baclaran. The extension project includes 10 stations, 10.5 kilometers of viaduct, support beams, and 3 intermodal facilities.

Approximately 10.5 kilometers of the Cavite Extension System would be elevated and 1.2 kilometers would be at grade level serving nearly four million residents of Parañaque, Las Piñas, and the Province of Cavite.

The cost of the civil works placed at about P30.6 billion would be bid out to the private sector.

The project is among the priority infrastructure projects of the Aquino government under the flagship Public Private Partnership (PPP) scheme. – Rappler.com