THE MOST expensive public-private partnership (PPP) deal in the government pipeline is set to be rolled out within the first half of the year, once it secures final approval from President Benigno S. C. Aquino III this month, a Transportation department official said.
Transportation spokesperson Michael Arthur C. Sagcal said by phone on Friday that his department “targets to publish an invitation to bid within the first half of 2015, and award it by the first quarter of 2016.”
The P374.5-billion Makati-Pasay-Taguig Mass Transit System Loop was one of the seven infrastructure projects approved by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Investment Coordination Committee Technical Board and Cabinet Committee meeting on Jan. 14.
It will also be one of the projects that could be approved in the next NEDA Board meeting, tentatively set for early February, Rolando G. Tungpalan, deputy director-general for Investment Programming of NEDA, said by phone on Sunday.
“We’re allocating at least seven months after the rollout for the one-on-one meetings with prospective bidders, qualification of those interested, and actual bidding itself,” Mr. Sagcal said.
The spokesman of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DoTC) said that his department is “preparing for the next NEDA board meeting where we are hopeful that the project will be given the final green light for bidding.”
The planned 20-kilometer (km) system will consist of a 16-km tunnel, a 4-km elevated railway and 11 stations, which is expected to ease road congestion in the cities of Makati, Pasay and Taguig, according to the PPP Center Web site.
Veteran PPP bidders Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) and MTD Philippines, Inc. have set their sights on the P374.5-billion PPP deal, the country’s first subway system that will link Bonifacio Global City, Makati central business district and the SM Mall of Asia.
“We are interested in the mass transit. We will wait for the terms and will look into the terms of reference,” MTD Philippines, Inc. President Isaac S. David said via mobile phone reply on Jan. 18.
For his part, MPIC President Jose Ma. K. Lim said in a text message: “We are interested and we will study it closely.”
Another transportation project requiring a major investment is the P177.22-billion North-South Railway Project (South Line), which is also set to be tackled in the next NEDA Board meeting.
The railway project -- involving 89.7 kms of track -- will connect to the state-owned Philippine National Railways system. It will have two phases, namely: the Malolos-Tutuban line which will be funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, and the rehabilitation of the Tutuban-Calamba line under the PPP scheme.
The second phase will involve an interchange at Tutuban station and will run southwards to Calamba. -- Chrisee Jalyssa V. Dela Paz
source: Businessworld
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