Gov’t resets P2.5-B coastal bus terminal bidding

MANILA, Philippines – The government has extended anew the deadline for applications to bid for the proposed P2.5-billion Integrated Transport System (ITS)-Southwest terminal project to avoid costly bidding failures.

“It’s more expensive for government to stick to a schedule that you know is not gonna sit well with the bidders,”Cosette Canilao, executive director of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center, told reporters at the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) office on Wednesday, September 3.

What was supposed to be a prequalification conference with bidders on Wednesday turned into a meeting between DOTC and interested groups over concerns surrounding the PPP project.

There are now 20 parties interested to bid for the PPP project this September from the 11 bidders in July. The list is largely comprised of big firms in the Philippines.

Also, Canilao said the extension was made to favor the bidders

“Before we set the final bid date or if we move it there needs to be a clear understanding already [among] all the bidders on what the terms are,” she said.

The DOTC was set to bid out the project on September 12, but Canilao said the deadline has been postponed 30 days from the said date.

The winning proponent will finance, design, construct, operate, and maintain the 2.9-hectare ITS-southwest project located at the Coastal Road Terminal along the Manila-Cavite Expressway for a period of 35 years. It is one of the 3 terminals to be constructed under the ITS project.

The terminal will connect passengers coming from Cavite to other urban transport system such as the future Light Rail Transit line 1 (LRT1) South Extension to Bacoor in Cavite, city buses, taxis, and other public utility vehicles plying Metro Manila.

Canilao said the government needs to adjust the bidding timeframe at the convenience of proponents to make sure the multi-billion-peso bidding will not fail.

“We want to ensure that our bids would be successful otherwise it would be very costly,” she said. – Rappler.com