Gov’t rolls out Davao Sasa port project

MANILA, Philippines – Finally, the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) rolled out the P17-billion ($381.42-million) modernization and operation and maintenance (O&M) project of the Davao Sasa port.

In an invitation to prequalify and bid, the DOTC through the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), invited interested companies to join the international competitive bidding of the public-private partnership (PPP) project.

The government has tapped the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank (WB), as well as the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), to act as the transaction advisers for the bidding to be conducted in accordance with the two-stage system, Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Law.

“Bidders are first pre-qualified based on minimum legal, technical, and financial requirements set by the DOTC and PPA,” the government said.

This means only pre-qualified bidders will be allowed to submit their technical and financial proposals for the bidding of the country’s first seaport PPP project.

Important access harbor

The port, also known as the Sasa wharf, is being groomed to improve trade access with other harbors.

Situated in Davao City, the port is an important hub in the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA).

The existing Davao Sasa port sits on an 18.1-hectare property with a container yard size of 4.15 hectares that could accommodate 864 containers. The port has an annual capacity of 550,000 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs).

The PPP project covers the modernization of the existing port and the establishment of a dedicated container-handling facilities with an initial design capacity of 1,900 container ground slots to a minimum of 2,700 container ground slots.

The construction of a new apron, development of a linear quay, expansion of back-up area, provision of container yards and warehouses, as well as the installation of appropriate container handling equipment are also covered under the PPP project.

The winning bidder would operate and maintain the Davao Sasa port for a period of 30 years. – Rappler.com