6 groups now eyeing P65-B LRT 1 project, DOTC says

The Transportation Department is set to meet with six groups that have so far expressed their interest to participate in the government’s biggest public private partnership deal—the rebidding of the P65-billion Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1) Cavite extension project.

The one-on-one meetings, which will take place next week, involve four of the original groups that prequalified during the original bidding process, as well as two new players, the Department of Transportation and Communications on Friday reported in its bid bulletin.

The original participants are San Miguel Corp.’s SMC Infra Resources Inc.; MTD Phils Inc. of Malaysian infrastructure firm AlloyMTD Group;  DMCI Holdings Inc.; and Light Rail Manila consortium, which is comprised of Metro Pacific Investments and Ayala Corp.

The two new players are Globalvia Inversiones of Spain and local builder Megawide Construction Corp.

Because of delays resulting from a failed bidding exercise on Aug. 15, 2013, the DOTC will auction the deal under an expedited “single-stage” process, where qualification, technical and financial proposals will be submitted on April 28.

The railway deal, the largest under the Aquino administration’s PPP program, involves the construction of a mostly elevated 11.7-kilometer railway extension from Baclaran terminal to Bacoor in Cavite. The winning bidder will then operate the entire LRT-1 system for a period of 32 years. Miguel R. Camus