LRT6 PPP bidding postponed

MANILA, Philippines — Metro Manila commuters might need to wait a little longer for a new mass railway transit, after the government decided to push back the bidding for the Light Rail Transit Line 6 (LRT6).

The transportation department said in a notice that the pre-qualification stage of the government’s P65.09-billion ($1.37-billion) plan to auction off the construction of a 19-kilometer elevated railway from Niog, Bacoor, Cavite to Dasmariñas has been moved to May 12 – a few days after the 2016 national and local elections.

This means interested bidders will only know if they qualify to bid for the LRT6 public-private partnership (PPP) deal after the May 9 elections. (READ: PPP Center to next admin: Prioritize airports, trains, subway)

The postponement is “in view of the [prospective bidders’] requests for extension,” Transportation Assistant Secretary for Administration Dante Lantin said in a notice.

The department initially set the pre-qualification for LRT6 auction on Friday, March 4.

It was just last month when big firms such as the San Miguel Holdings Corporation and Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC)  raised their concern on the timeline of LRT6’s bidding process as presidential elections in May near.

MPIC and San Miguel are the two firms that bought bid documents for the railway PPP deal.

Under the transportation department’s new indicative timeline, the last day of submitting queries for the LRT6 deal has been also moved to April 4 from March 1.

This means the submission of bids for the LRT6 that is initially targeted in August will also be postponed. (READ: PPP thrust: Work in progress)

For MPIC vice oresident for business development Karim Garcia, more time is needed for interested companies to set up a consortium and comply with all the requirements.

Garcia said his firm, along with Ayala Corporation and Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings (Philippines) Private Limited, has “high interest” in the project.

MPIC, Ayala, and Macquarie – through Light Rail Manila Consortium – have also bagged the LRT Line 1 (LRT1) Cavite Extension project.

Other than MPIC and San Miguel, other firms that are also interested in the project include MRail, Incorporated, Paris-based rail engineer SYSTRA, Egis Group, Metro Builders Corporation, and Canada’s Bombardier, Incorporated.

The LRT6 will have 7 stations including Niog, Tirona, Imus, Daang Hari, Salitran, Congressional Avenue, and Governor’s Drive.