Bid for P35-B road project pushed back

Bidding for the P35.4-billion Cavite-Laguna Expressway project has been pushed back to early next year as prospective bidders sought more time to prepare their qualification documents.

The Department of Public Works and Highways, which is implementing the 47-kilometer expressway project, said the submission of prequalification documents, originally set on Sept. 23, has been moved to Oct. 23.

The opening will also be held sometime in 2014, Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson said in a text message Thursday.

According to the extension order from the DPWH, contained in a supplemental bid bulletin released this week, the move was “in response to the request of several prospective bidders for more time to prepare the qualification documents.”

The DPWH in late July invited private sector groups to bid for the Cavite Laguna Expressway project, one of the government’s largest public-private partnership (PPP) deals.

The project, which aims to decongest traffic along the Cavite-Laguna road network and reduce travel time to and from Metro Manila, has drawn 15 potential companies as of mid-August.

The proposed Cavite-Laguna Expressway will start from the Manila-Cavite expressway in Kawit, Cavite, and end at the South Luzon Expressway-Mamplasan Interchange in Biñan, Laguna.