DOTC moves deadline for LRT-1 Ext

MANILA, Philippines - The Aquino administration has extended anew the deadline for the submission of pre-qualification documents for the proposed P60-billion Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT1) Extension project to Cavite to give interested companies more time to firm up their bids.

The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) has issued Special Bid Bulletin 09-2012 extending yesterday’s deadline to Oct. 22. This is the second extension given by the government to interested parties as the original deadline was last Aug. 22.

Transport undersecretary Jose Perpetuo Lotilla said in the bulletin that DOTC decided to grant a second extension to ensure a successful competitive tender due to the queries from some of the investors regarding the requirements.

“This is in light of the recent revisions to the instructions to prospective bidders and clarifications made to queries submitted and in response to the requests of several prospective bidders for more time to prepare the qualification documents,” Lotilla stressed.

Under Special Bid Bulletin 08-2012, the DOTC requires that “no consortium member, on its own or together with its affiliates, shall own a greater percentage of outstanding voting shares in the concessionaire than the lead member, on its own or together with is affiliates.”

Lotilla pointed out that the DOTC is not keen on granting another extension as the deadline of the submission of official queries would only be until Oct. 5

He explained that the new deadline set on Oct. 22 would give the investors ample time to prepare and submit their qualification documents.

Conglomerates led by the tandem of Metro Pacific Investment Corp. (MPIC) and Ayala Corp., and SMC Infra Resources Inc. are among the interested bidders for the civil works of the project worth P30 billion that would extend the LRT 1 from Baclaran all the way to Bacoor in Cavite.

Aside from the conglomerates, also present during the investors’ briefing and pre-qualification conference last July 10 were Ayala-controlled Makati Development Corp., FF Cruz, DM Consunji Inc. as well as Japanese-owned Marubeni, Sumitomo, Mitsubishi, Itochu as well as French transportation contractors RATP Dev and Systra Group as well as Ecorail and Leighton Contractors.

Also interested were Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction Co. Ltd., SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan, FSG Capital Inc., EFC Enterprises, Jorgman Planning & Development Corp., RATP Development, Bechtel Overseas Corp., SERCO Group, Comm Builders & Technical Philippines Corp., Lenvoisa Construction Inc., APT Global Inc., Tranzen Group, and Cathay Energy Service Corp.

Banks present during the conference were Ayala-controlled Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), BDO Universal Bank of retail magnate Henry Sy, PNB Capital of banking and beverage tycoon Lucio Tan, China Bank, and Dutch financial giant ING Bank, American-owned Citi, and the Macquarie Group of Companies.

The Cavite Extension project would increase the span of Line 1 from 20.7 kilometers to 32.4 kilometers and will have a new south endpoint in Niog, Bacoor, Cavite. The extension project includes eight stations (with provision for two future stations), 10.5 kilometers of viaduct, support beams, and 3 intermodal facilities.

Approximately 10.5 kilometers of the Cavite Extension System would be elevated and 1.2 kilometers would be at grade level. The government has set aside P30 billion to acquire up to 39 new Light Rail Vehicles for this project.

The extension would open up the Line 1 services to the nearly 4 million residents of Parañaque, Las Piñas, and the Province of Cavite.

The construction of the tracks, the stations and all its attendant facilities, as well as O&M, worth about P30 billion, would be bidded out. The other half of the P60-billion project, which includes the purchase of the coaches, would come from the government through official development assistance (ODA).

Meanwhile, the DOTC is now conducting a study to determine the viability of extending the railway project all the way to Dasmarinas in Cavite instead of Niog in Bacoor.