DOTr eyes to bid contract for multi-river ferry system

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Transportation (DOTr) will start next year the bidding process for a private partner for the ferry system that will traverse Manila Bay, Pasig River, Marikina River and Laguna de Bay.

Transport Assistant Secretary Leonel de Velez said the government intends to bid out in 2025 the development of the ferry system being eyed as a public-private partnership (PPP) project.

The project will involve establishing a high-capacity, high-frequency and low-carbon ferry system.

De Velez said the DOTr and the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center are currently working on the study for the project to determine the demand and cost needed for the development of the ferry system.

“Before we make important infrastructure investment similar to our railways or airports, we need to conduct passenger surveys. We need to understand how many people will actually use the system,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the Asian Development Bank’s Asia and the Pacific Transport Forum 2024 yesterday.

Also part of the study is the deployment of electric ferries in the system.

“That’s currently what we’re discussing with potential shipyards,” he said, noting there is a need to determine the energy source of the electric vessels.

He said the study also includes integrating the ferry system into road-based transportation, such as modern public utility vehicles or modern buses, as well as active transportation.

“We hope to have the study within the year,” he said.

After the study is completed, he said the project will need to secure approvals from the government agencies.

He said the project is part of the initiative to enhance the Pasig River. It will also provide an alternative east-west transportation corridor in Metro Manila.

“We do not have as many what we call east-west corridors for mass transportation. And Pasig River naturally is there and traverses east-west… So it’s naturally there already and we hope to take advantage of that,” De Velez said.

With many of DOTr’s projects focused on rail and land, he said the agency wants to rebalance its portfolio by focusing more on aviation and maritime.

“It’s been a while since we invested heavily in our maritime sector. We want to improve the sustainability, the safety and efficiency of our domestic shipping,” he said noting many Filipinos still use the roll-on roll-off system to get around the country.

He said the government is also increasing the capacity of airports.