Megawide submits best bid for transpo hub

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) yesterday said MWM Terminals of Filipino-owned Megawide Construction Corp. submitted the best bid for the P2.5-billion Integrated Transport System – Southwest Terminal.

DOTC Undersecretary Jose Perpetuo Lotilla said MWM Terminals submitted an annual grantor payment of P100 million while Filinvest Land Inc. of taipan Andrew Gotianun offered an annual grantor payment of P650 million.

Lotilla said the agency’s Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) would convene immediately to evaluate the financial offers made by the two prequalified bidders for the public private partnership (PPP) project.

DOTC spokesperson Michael Arthur Sagcal said in an interview with reporters that AGP are payments to be made by the government to the concessionaire during the 35-year concession period.

“Lowest AGP wins, subject to evaluation of the bid,” Sagcal said.

He pointed out that the DOTC would award this year’s first PPP project immediately after the agency’s BAC completes the evaluation of the financial offers made by the two groups.

So far, the Megawide Group has bagged four PPP projects. These include the P17.5- billion Mactan Cebu International Airport expansion program together with Bangalore-based GMR Infrastructure, the P5.7-billion Modernization of Philippine Ortophedic Center together with World Citi, the P16.42 billion PPP for School Infrastructure project phase I, and the P3.86-billion PSIP phase II.

A total of 16 companies bought prequalification documents for the PPP project but only Filinvest Land and MWM Terminals submitted qualification documents last Dec. 22.

 PPP Center executive director Cosette Canilao said the government is satisfied with the result of bidding process for the PPP projects.

“If the bid parameter is AGP or availability payment, it is very seldom that we get a bid premium. That is why based on our studies, we structure it already as availability payment because we already know that we are going to pay for the structure,” Canilao said.

The proposed terminal to be situated in a 4.6-hectare property at the Coastal Road Terminal along the Manila-Cavite Expressway would connect passengers coming from Cavite to other urban transport systems such as the future Light Rail Transit line 1 (LRT) South Extension to Bacoor in Cavite, city bus, taxi, and other public utility vehicles plying Metro Manila.