JG Summit, Aboitiz, 3 more eye largest PPP project

MANILA, Philippines – JG Summit Holdings Inc, Aboitiz Group and 3 more companies are interested to bid for the Aquino administration’s biggest public private partnership (PPP) project, bringing the total number of bidders to 19 as of end of August. 

The 5 companies that bought bid documents for the P123-billion (US$2.8 billion) Laguna Lakeshore expressway dike are the following, according to PPP Center executive director Cosette Canilao: 

• JG Summit Holdings Inc
• Aboitiz Group
• Megawide Construction Corp
• PT Star Line
• State Properties Corp

Other interested bidders include:

• San Miguel Corp (SMC)
• Lucio Tan Group
• Ayala Land Inc
• Metro Pacific Investments Corp (MPIC)
• Megaworld Corp
• GT Capital Holdings Inc
• Filinvest Land Inc
• Laguna Lakeshore Consortium led by the Wenceslao Group
• JV Power and Wealth Corp
• Macquarie Capital Securities
• Minerales Industrias Corp

Philippine units of foreign firms Egis SA of France, Leighton Contractors of Australia, and Muhibbah Engineering (M) Berhad of Malaysia are also eyeing the project.

The interested companies are required to submit their pre-qualification documents by October 16, said the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

Less flooding, faster transport

The Laguna Lakeshore expressway dike was approved by the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) last June 19.

President Benigno Aquino III promised in his 4th State of the Nation Address (SONA) that it would lessen flooding in towns on the coast of Laguna Lake, specifically those in Southern Metro Manila and Laguna. 

It is also meant to improve the environmental condition of the Lake and make travel and transport of goods more efficient. 

The reclamation of 700 hectares  of foreshore and offshore areas in Taguig and Muntinlupa is also seen to open up opportunities for a new business and residential district.

The project is a 47-kilometer flood control dike topped by a high-speed 6-lane expressway 500 meters from the western shoreline of Laguna Lake. It will feature pumping stations and floodgates.

It will start in Taguig, passing through Muntinlupa and Calamba, and ending in Los Baños where it borders Bay, Laguna.

But some environmental and fisherfolk groups claim the expressway dike will displace fisherfolk who live on the coast of Laguna Lake and pose environmental threats, especially because of the large-scale reclamation the project requires.

The government will roll out 18 major infrastructure PPP projects worth P602.2 billion ($13.8 billion) before June 2015, said Canilao.

The administration has alrady awarded 7 PPP projects worth almost P68 billion. These include the following:

• Daang Hari-South Luzon expressway link road (P2 billion or $45.9 mllion)
• PPP for School Infrastructure Project phase 1 (P8.86 billion or $203 million)
• PSIP-2 (P16.28 billion or $373 million)
• Modernization project for the Philippine Orthopedic Center (P5.98 billion or $137 million)
• Ninoy Aquino International Airport expressway (P15.52 billion $356 million)
• Automated fare collection system project (P1.72 billion or $39 million)
• Mactan-Cebu international airport expansion project (P17.5 billion or $401 million)

Concession contracts for the LRT 1 Cavite extension worth P65 billion ($1.5 billion) and the Cavite-Laguna expressway project worth P35.4 billion ($812 million) will also be awarded soon by DPWH. – Rappler.com