Aussie-Pinoy group bags Pasig River ferry franchise

The Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC), the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) and the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) have awarded the franchise to operate the 17-kilometer Pasig River ferry service to Nautical Transport Services Corp., an Australian-Filipino joint venture.

In yesterday’s open bidding held at the MMDA offices in Makati, only three firms actually submitted bids for the Pasig River ferry service operation. Aside from Nautical Transport, the two other entities were MetroStar Ferry Corp. and the joint venture of PropMech and Mt. Samat.

Meanwhile, two other proponents – Montenegro Shipping and Ocean Bay Ferry Corp. – decided not to bid.

While Ocean Bay has entered into a technical agreement with MetroStar Ferry wherein Ocean Bay would provide technical expertise and support it opted not to submit a bid since it had earlier been negotiating with the previous Pasig River service operator, Star Ferry, to take over the ferry operation, its spokesman Lorenzo Gadon said.

However, before the negotiations could be concluded, Gadon said the MMDA, PRRC and DOTC decided to call for a new bidding.

In a highly transparent process, the bids of the three firms were opened and assessed first for their eligibility, then for their technical compliance, and lastly for the lowest fare quotation.

All three passed the eligibility process but MetroStar and Prop Mech/Mt. Samat failed to hurdle compliance stage.

MetroStar Ferry failed the technical and financial compliance requirements since it was not able to secure the necessary bank/financial support.

PropMech/Mt. Samat also failed in the technical compliance stage as it was not able to secure the necessary Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) certification.

Mt. Samat Ferry operates a ferry service from the Folk Arts complex to Corregidor, Bataan. It teamed up with PropMech which distributes Caterpillar brand machineries.

Only Nautical Transport Services, a joint venture between an Australian ferry service firm SydneySide Cruises and Filipino partners Eduardo Bondad, Atlanta Industrial and Penta Capital Investments, was able to reach the third stage with a fare quotation of P225 per kilometer, inclusive of terminal fee.

The prospective Pasig River operator would be given an exclusive contract to operate the ferry service for a period of five years to ensure its profitability.

The operator, likewise, would be free to set a "market-driven" fare.

The PRRC would provide support in the form of a terminal/station for which the operator would have to pay a still unspecified terminal fee.

The PRRC is spending between P7 million to P10 million for each of the 15 proposed terminals.

The PRRC is rehabilitating the Pasig River through private funds and a $75-million loan from the Asian Development Bank.

The PRRC foresees a ferry service that would involve 10 boats with a capacity of anywhere from 60 to 150 passengers and can provide at least 28,000 passenger trips or roundtrips.