SUMMARY
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MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) said that it remains flexible on the deadlines for its 3 public-private partnership (PPP) projects.
This is to give bidders more time to submit the best possible proposals to the government, the DOTC said in a statement on Friday, March 22.
The DOTC is bidding out the LRT Line-1 extension, the Mactan-Cebu International Airport expansion and the Automatic Fare Collection System (AFCS) for the MRT and LRT.
Delays and timetables
The submission of bids for the LRT Line 1 Extension Project is on June 17. The deadline for submission of qualification documents was initially moved from August 22 to September 28, 2012. The DOTC designated MPIC’s Light Rail Manila Consortium, DMCI Holdings, SMC Infra Resources and MTDC-Samsung Consortium as the final bidders for the project in October 2012. In February, MPIC asked for more transparency on the specifics of the existing 20.7-kilometer train line.
The current deadline for the submission of bids for the Mactan-Cebu International Airport expansion is on April 5. The deadline has already been moved 3 times. The agency first moved the deadline from February 18 to 27. It then moved the deadline a second time to March 22.
For the AFCS project, the deadline of submission of pre-qualified documents is on April 12. The submission date for the project was initially moved from February 14 to March 14.
Over 1,000 questions
“There are bidding processes that we are following to ensure we have an open and competitive procedure in procuring the best private sector partner for each of the [PPP] projects that we have put out to bid,” the DOTC said.
“The broad interest generated by our projects has caused bidders to submit over 1,000 questions for the 3 PPP Projects combined. The sheer volume of clarifications and the time needed to adjust their proposals accordingly make the bidders’ requests for extension reasonable.”
The agency originally provided specific timelines for bidders seeking clarifications on the bid criteria. However, it said that it was more beneficial to encourage bidders to submit more competitive proposals.
“Ensuring that the government receives the most advantageous deals with long-term stability is our priority,” the DOTC said. – Rappler.com
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