Awarding of 2 PPP projects delayed

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) said that the awarding of contracts for two Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects would be delayed, as careful evaluations of financial bids are still underway.

DOTC Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya said that the agency has yet to issue a notice of award for the P1.72-billion Automatic Fare Collection System (AFCS), a single-ticketing project for the rail lines of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) and the Metro Rail Transit (MRT).

The Bids and Awards Committee (BAC), which was originally set to announce the winning bidder on December 23 last year, is hearing a motion for reconsideration filed by a disqualified bidder, E-Trans Solutions Joint Venture Inc.

The tie-up of conglomerates Ayala Corporation and Metro Pacific Investments Corporation submitted the best offer for the AFCS project on December 9, with a “negative bid” of P1,088,103,900.

“A negative bid means that the bidder is proposing to pay the government to do the project,” DOTC spokesperson Atty. Michael Arthur Sagcal said.

Meanwhile, due to ongoing financial evaluations, the awarding of the P17-5 billion Mactan-Cebu International Airport expansion project is unlikely to take place on Monday, January 6, said the DOTC.

The consortium of GMR Infrastructure of India and Megawide consortium submitted the highest bid of P14.4 billion on December 12 last year.

However, the next highest bidder, the Filinvest-CAI Airport consortium led by Andrew Gotianun, questioned the capability of GM Infrastructure to undertake the project, alleging the company is having financial troubles.

“We will of course thoroughly evaluate any point raised as part of the final process before making any award,” DOTC undersecretary and BAC chairman Jose Lotilla said in a text message. – Rappler.com