EDSA busway privatization next in DOTr’s to do list

MANILA, Philippines — After signing the concession agreement for the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), the Department of Transportation (DOTr) is set to embark on the privatization of another big-ticket infrastructure: the busway in the busiest thoroughfare in Metro Manila.

The DOTr plans to complete the feasibility study for the public-private partnership project of the EDSA busway within the year.

Transportation Undersecretary Timothy John Batan said the DOTr would bid out the contract for the operations and maintenance of the EDSA busway by 2025.

The DOTr recently conducted a market sounding for the EDSA busway, gathering potential investors to discuss preliminary details about the project. Batan said the activity was participated in by bus manufacturers, bus operators, financial institutions and infrastructure players.

The next part of the process would be the completion of the feasibility study that will be turned over to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA). Once NEDA approves it, the DOTr will issue an invitation to bid for the EDSA busway.

In 2023, consultancy giant Deloitte was commissioned to study the best possible structure for the privatization of the infrastructure.

Batan said the DOTr wants to emulate the pace of the bidding for the concession to take over NAIA, a process that lasted only around half a year from the issuance of the bidding documents to the announcement of a winning bidder.

“When we project timelines for solicited projects in the DOTr, we look back to what we achieved in the bidding for NAIA,” Batan said.

The DOTr is handing over the EDSA busway to the private sector to ensure that it will be given enough resources for rehabilitation and upgrade. However, the agency is faced with the question on how to privatize it, as it can be divided into two segments.

The DOTr can divide the EDSA busway into two segments, in particular, the development of the stations and the operation of the buses. Even though the two are intertwined, they may be issued in separate contracts given their different requirements.

Based on records from the DOTr, the government spent at least P551 million to build and operate the EDSA busway from 2020 to 2022.

The infrastructure serves as the bus thoroughfare in the busiest road in Metro Manila, stretching 28 kilometers between Monumento and the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange to connect the north and south of the National Capital Region.