DOTC fast-tracks Mactan airport deal bidding

The winner of the government’s P17.5-billion Mactan-Cebu International Airport public private partnership deal will be known by Thursday, a week ahead of schedule, as the transportation department wraps up its technical review sooner than expected.

The Department of Transportation and Communications, in a bid bulletin post on its website Tuesday, said the opening of the financial offers of qualified participants would be done on Dec. 12 instead of Dec. 19.

The move comes as the DOTC expedites some of its larger PPP deals amid earlier criticism that it was moving too slow.

Projects to be implemented by the department account for the biggest share of at least $4 billion worth of PPP infrastructure deals the administration is planning to rollout to sustain economic growth.

Among these are the  P65-billion railway extension project from Metro Manila to Cavite, to be bid out next year, and the P7.7-billion mass transportation hubs in the city, to be bid out later this month, DOTC spokesperson Michael Sagcal said Tuesday.

Mactan-Cebu, the gateway to the country’s biggest metropolis outside Metro Manila and a key tourist hub, is an important part of this plan. The P17.5-billion deal involves the expansion and rehabilitation of the congested terminal and the operation of the airport for 25 years.

In a statement issued Tuesday, the DOTC said the technical review was up for completion today, ahead of the original Dec. 18 target. This will pave the way for the Dec. 12 opening of the financial proposals.

The DOTC would open the financial proposals only of groups that would make it through the technical review.

The project drew seven bidders, including some of the country’s biggest conglomerates and their respective foreign airport-operator partners.

“We are expediting work on our PPPs.  Especially now that we are re-bidding the LRT Line 1 Cavite Extension (LRT-1 Cavex) project and preparing to bid out the Integrated Transport System project later this month,” Sagcal said in a statement.

Prospective new bidders have indicated interest in the LRT-1 Cavex PPP project, with local construction giant Megawide Corp. and Spanish rail transport operator Globalvia purchasing bid documents.

The DMCI and San Miguel groups, both prequalified to bid in the original tender, have also obtained bid documents.

The DOTC is also planning to start the bidding process for the terminal on Coastal Road within the month.

This project will provide commuters with a modern and efficient intermodal transport hub, where they can conveniently transfer to in-city buses, the LRT-1 system or other forms of urban transport such as taxis.