P1.2-B intermodal terminal project pushed in Baguio City

BAGUIO CITY— The Baguio City government began soliciting inputs from the public to be possibly incorporated in the terms for negotiations with the proponent for the construction of the P1.2 billion intermodal terminal within portions of the property ceded to the city by Department of Agriculture in 2018.

The project that will be undertaken through the public-private partnership (PPP) scheme was presented by the proponent, Megawide Construction Corporation, during a public consultation Wednesday this week.

Based on the presentation, the proponent will build the intermodal terminal within a 5-hectare portion of the 10-hectare land that was ceded to the local government to pave the way for the transfer of the south-bound buses from the present Gov. Pack road terminal.

The proponent will operate the terminal for a 40-year period where it will be paying the agreed lease rentals to the local government while the agriculture department will be getting a rental share of 20 percent from the lease rentals that will be paid to the city.

Bus companies that will be using the intermodal terminal will be paying to the proponent some P7,500 per unit per month as rental while passengers will be paying to the company P30 covering the use of the amenities that will be provided such as ticketing booths, trollies, karts, clean comfort rooms, free wifi services among others.

Earlier, the local government conferred to the proponent the Original Proponent Status (OPS) for the project and that both parties are now in the negotiation stage for the targeted 17-point terms of reference which will be the one that will be published and opened to Swiss Challenge by interested companies wanting to offer superior terms compared to the ones of the proponent.

After both parties have agreed on the terms, the proposed project shall be submitted to the City Development Council for approval and subsequently to the local legislative body which will have some 120 days to either approve or reject the said proposal.

The construction of the intermodal terminal in Barangay Dontogan is just one of the local government’s big ticket projects being subjected to the PPP scheme pursuant to the mandate of the government for the active participation of the private sector in the implementation of development projects in the different parts of the country.