DOTC to postpone bidding for P2.5-B bus terminal

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) will likely defer the deadline for the submission of bids for the P2.5-billion Integrated Transport System (ITS) – Southwest Terminal project.

The original deadline for the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) project was scheduled last May 15 but was moved to June 16.

The June deadline will likely be moved again to give bidders enough time to prepare their documents after the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board approved the revised terms of the project, DOTC Secretary Jun Abaya said.

The DOTC earlier revised the terms to make the project more attractive to investors.

The terminal project on a 2.9-hectare property at the Coastal Road Terminal along the Manila-Cavite Expressway will include arrival and departure bays, a passenger terminal building, public information system, ticketing and baggage handling facilities, and park-ride facilities.

It will connect passengers coming from Cavite to transport systems such as city bus and public utility vehicles bound for Metro Manila and the future Light Rail Transit line 1 (LRT) South Extension to Bacoor.

Interested groups include:

• San Miguel Corporation
• Ayala Corporation
• Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation
• Robinsons Land Inc.
• D.M. Wenceslao and Associates Inc.
• Vicente T. Lao Construction
• Egis Projects Philippines
• Filinvest Land Inc.
• Megawide Construction Corporation
• State Properties Corporation
• Expedition Properties Corporation

The DOTC said the winning bidder would finance, design, construct, and operate the project for 35 years.

Aside from the ITS-Southwest Terminal, Abaya said the NEDA Board approved revisions in the terms of the P4-billion ITS-South Terminal project at the FTI Complex along the South Luzon Expressway.

The DOTC is also eyeing a third terminal – the ITS-North Terminal – in Quezon City near EDSA.

Abaya said the terminal projects would “make travel more efficient and convenient for passengers, as well as decongest traffic in the main thoroughfares of Metro Manila since provincial bus terminals within the metropolis will no longer be allowed to operate.”

Other projects involving the DOTC that were approved by the NEDA Board include the following:

• Light Rail Transit line 2 (LRT2) operation and maintenance project, worth P14.34 billion
• Busuanga Airport development project, worth P4.1 billion
• Cebu Bus Rapid Transit, worth P10.62 billion 

“We are pleased that we can now proceed with these projects. Our hard work today will pay off tomorrow, which is why we now have to make sure that they will be bid out, awarded, and implemented at the soonest possible time,” Abaya said. – Rappler.com