LRTA Board resets meeting on P65-B LRT 1 Cavite extension project

MANILA, Philippines – The Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) Board has reset anew a meeting on awarding the P65-billion ($1.49 billion*) LRT 1 Cavite extension project to sole bidder Light Rail Manila Consortium.

Light Rail Manila was the only one that submitted an offer for the PPP project. The consortium is led by MPIC, with a 55% stake, and Ayala, with 35%. Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings (Philippines) Pte Ltd holds the remaining 10%.

The Board was due to meet July 16 but moved this tentatively to next week as typhoon Glenda (Rammasun) battered Metro Manila Wednesday morning.  

The LRTA Board chaired by Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya would try to convene next week, LRTA administrator Honorio Chaneco said in a text message Thursday, July 17.

“Yes it did not push through. We are gathering new quorum. It is not easy to find a date but we are asking them for next week,” Chaneco explained.

No date yet has been set for the LRTA Board meeting, LRTA spokesman Hernando Cabrera said.

The LRTA board is composed of 8 ex-officio members, with the the DOTC secretary as chairman.

The others are the heads of the Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of Budget and Management, Department of Finance, National Economic and Development Authority, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, the LRTA, and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board; and a representative from the private sector.

The NEDA Board chaired by President Benigno Aquino III approved on June 19 the offer made by the Light Rail Manila Consortium.

The offer made by Light Rail Manila will have to be first approved by the joint Bids and Awards Committee of the DOTC and the LRTA, Cabrera had earlier said.

DOTC also clarified the Transportation Undersecretary Rene Limcaoco did not favor the lone bidder for the public-private partnership (PPP) project, contrary to reports that he did because his brother, Jose Teodoro, is working for the Ayala group.

The Cavite extension project will lengthen Line 1 from 20.7 kilometers to 32.4 km with a new south endpoint in Niog, Bacoor, Cavite. Approximately 10.5 km of the Cavite Extension System will be elevated and 1.2 km will be at grade level. The extension will serve nearly 4 million residents of Parañaque, Las Piñas, and Cavite.

Biddings’ deadline extended

Meanwhile, the LRTA has extended the deadline for the submission of bids for the maintenance contracts for LRT1 and LRT2 to give bidders more time to prepare their bids, and the new committee members enough time to study the bidding process.

The agency has postponed the deadline of the submission of bids for the P423.2-million ($9.71 million) maintenance contract for LRT 1 as well as the P1.33-billion ($30.51 million) maintenance contract for the LRT 2.

LRTA BAC-Rail Chairman Jose Jobel Belarmino issued Bid Bulletin No. 16 moving the deadline for the submission of bids for the maintenance contract of LRT 1 to Friday, September 12 from August 13, and LRT 2 to Friday, August 22 instead of July 16.

The 20.7-km elevated LRT 1 from Baclaran in Pasay City to Roosevelt in Quezon City is currently being maintained by the group of ComBuilders and Technology (CB&T), PMP Inc, and Gras Sabrocai.

Meanwhile, 8 foreign and local companies have expressed interest in bidding for the maintenance contract of LRT 2, which is running from CM Recto Avenue to the Depot Santolan Street along Marcos Highway. It is currently maintained by the TSPA consortium consisting of Telefonika, STIV, Pacific, and APT Global.

The deadlines’ extension would also give the new members of the Bids and Awards Committee – (BAC) Rail more time to familiarize themselves with the bidding process, Cabrera said.

“The extension was due to the new composition of the BAC-Rail plus the time involved was inherently short,” Cabrera explained. – Rappler.com

(*$1=P43.59)