SUMMARY
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MANILA, Philippines – The bidding for the P60-bilion LRT-1 Cavite Extension project will push through only in 2014.
This was announced by Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya at the Philippine Economic Briefing on Tuesday, September 17. The rail project was one of the big ticket projects under the public-private partnership (PPP) scheme that the Aquino government wanted to award this 2013.
LIVE BLOG: Philippine economic briefing 2013
“We stumbled a little but we expect this to happen in the first quarter of next year — January or February,” Abaya told an audience that includes foreign and local investors eying infrastructure projects of the government.
The rail project is one of the biggest infrastructure projects the Aquino government has lined up. Aquino had wanted it finished before he steps down in 2016, but multiple delays in the bidding process has made the deadline a key concern.
Three out 4 firms withdrew their participation shortly before the opening of the technical proposals last August 15.
The lone bidder, Light Rail Manila Consortium of Pangilinan-led Metro Pacific Investments Corp., however, failed to meet the requirements of the bidding, which resulted in a failure of bidding.
The new rail aims to connect Metro Manila to the province of Cavite in the south.
READ: Govt considers P2-B subsidy for LRT-1 Cavite
Jaime Zobel de Ayala, who heads a member of a consortium eyeing LRT-1, was also at the economic briefing. He said, “Government and private sector should be “bolder.”
Abaya acknowledged the challenges in bidding out infrastructure projects “PPP is a very sophisticated process. It is a balancing act bet private sector participation and public interest.” – Rappler.com
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