The construction of the second phase of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) Expressway is facing delays after the government granted interested investors six more weeks to submit their bids.
Public Private Partnership (PPP) Center Executive Director Cosette Canilao said the deadline was extended upon the request of the pre-qualified bidders, who asked for more time to work on their bids.
The Department of Public Works and Highways originally set the deadline for the submission of bids on Feb. 24 to be followed by the issuance of the notice of award in April.
The deadline for the submission of bids was moved to April 8. Companies that were pre-qualified to bid are conglomerate San Miguel Corp., Metro Pacific Investments Corp. of Hong Kong’s First Pacific, publicly listed conglomerate Ayala Corp., and Indian-owned M/S IL and FS Transportation Network.
The bids submitted by pre-qualified firms still need to hurdle stringent technical and financial requirements before these are considered for the project.
A total of 13 firms previously signified interest in the project, including DM Consunji, EEI Corp., Megawide Construction Corp., Macquarie Capital Securities, EGIS Projects, Alloy MTD Philippines, J.E. Manalo Construction, Daelim Philippines and C.M. Pancho Construction.
The Naia Expressway is composed of two phases, with the first, a road linking the Metro Manila Skyway to Sales Road in front of the Naia Terminal 3, completed in 2010.
The second phase will link the existing road to Roxas Boulevard.
The project intends to make the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. Entertainment City, being built in Pasay and Parañaque cities, more accessible to tourists coming from the airport area.
The project, approved by the National Economic and Development Authority last May, involves the construction of a four-lane elevated expressway with a total length of 7.15 kilometers.
It will take two years to build.