DOT rebids Mactan-Cebu airport consultancy contract

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) is set to rebid the contract for independent consultancy services for the P17.5-billion Mactan - Cebu international airport expansion project.

The DOTC said it is tapping an independent consultant for the Public Private Partnership (PPP) project that was awarded to the tandem of Megawide Construction Corp. and Bangalore-based GMR Group after a failed bidding a few months ago.

However, the approved budget for the contract is now P115.1 million compared to the earlier budget of P122.6 million under the first bidding.

 “The DOTC is in need of the services of an independent consultant to review the design, construction, commissioning, operation, and maintenance deliverables of the concessionaire under the Public Private Partnership concession agreement,” the agency said.

The DOTC is giving interested bidders until Oct. 8 to submit their eligibility documents, after which the agency’s Bids and Awards Committee would draw up the shortlist of consultants based on a non-discretionary pass or fail criteria.

Criteria for the shortlisting of five bidders include 45 percent for applicable experience, 45 percent for the qualification of key personnel, and 10 percent for current workload.

Michael Arthur Sagcal, DOTC spokesperson, earlier said an independent consultant is essential in all government infrastructure projects.

“It will act as government’s engineer and representative in monitoring the project’s progress and ensuring compliance by the concessionaire with its obligations,” Sagcal said in a text message.

The DOTC issued a Notice of Award to the GMR-Megawide tandem last April 4. The joint venture aims to transform the country’s second busiest airport into the world’s first resort airport.

The DOTC and the Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA) awarded the project to the GMR-Megawide tandem after denying the issues raised by second highest bidder, the Filinvest Group of taipan Andrew Gotianun.

The Megawide-GMR Group submitted the highest bid of P14.404 billion for the project followed by the Filinvest – CAI consortium with P13.999 billion, and Premier Airport Group of the SM Group of retail magnate Henry Sy with P12.5 billion.

Other groups that submitted bids include the MPIC-JGS Airport consortium of  MPIC and JG Summit Holdings (P11.23 billion); AAA Airport Partners led by the Ayala Group and Cebu-based Aboitiz Land (P11.088 billion); the San Miguel Corp.-Incheon Airport consortium (P9.05 billion); and the Lopez Group’s First Philippine Airports (P4.7 billion).

The PPP project intends to modernize the country’s second-largest aviation hub with the construction of a new world-class international passenger terminal building with an annual capacity of eight million passengers and at the same time expand the existing terminal building with a capacity of 4.5 million and has been operating at over-capacity with 6.7 million passengers since 2012.