4 groups vie for P35.4-B tollroad PPP

Cavite-Laguna Expressway Route Map https://www.dpwh.gov.ph

All four prequalified groups submitted bids for the 47-kilometer Cavite-Laguna Expressway (Calax) public private partnership (PPP) project Monday, the latest big-ticket deal to be auctioned by the government.

The strong interest comes days after the government’s auction of the P65-billion Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1) extension  to Cavite, which drew just one bidder, and underscores the interest in tollroads, which has historically produced good bidding results under the Aquino administration’s PPP Program.

The four groups vying for the Calax are San Miguel Corp., Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., Malaysia’s MTD Capital Bhd and the tandem of Ayala Corp. and Aboitiz Land Inc. (a subsidiary of Aboitiz Equity Ventures).

Their technical proposals and financial bids were submitted yesterday to the Department of Public Works and Highways, which is implementing the P35.4-billion deal, but only the technical component was opened.

Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson said they hoped to open the financial proposals on Friday and possibly award the project this month.

This would mean two PPP deals could be awarded this month with the Transportation Department’s LRT-1 project.

“We hope they give aggressive bids,” Singson told reporters at the sidelines of the bid submission Monday, adding that the project was structured to make it attractive both to tollroad operators and property developers.

The groups that made offers for Calax all have exposure in the tollroad business.

San Miguel, with partner Citra Group of Indonesia, operates the South Luzon Expressway (SLEx) and the Skyway elevated tollroad in southern Metro Manila and last year, it won the 7.15-km Naia Expressway PPP deal. Metro Pacific operates the Manila-Cavite Expressway, also in the south, and the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx) while Ayala Corp. bagged in 2011 the 4-km Daang-Hari SLEx Link PPP. MTD, which previously operated the SLEx before selling its entire stake to San Miguel-Citra, is Malaysia’s second-biggest tollroad operator.

The DWPH has received good tenders for its last two tollroad PPPs. It got a P902-million bid for Daang-Hari, which comes on top of the cost to build the project. The following year, it obtained an P11-billion upfront cash payment from San Miguel Corp. for the Naia Expressway, also on top of the cost to build the tollroad.

The Calax project involves the financing, design and construction, as well as operation and maintenance of the four-lane expressway that will connect the Manila-Cavite Expressway (Cavitex) and the South Luzon Expressway (SLEx). It will start at the Cavitex toll gate in Kawit, Cavite, and end at the South Luzon Expressway (SLEx)-Mamplasan Interchange in Biñan, Laguna.

It calls for the construction of 12,207 meters of concrete bridges, 4,618 meters of viaducts, toll gates and interchanges in Kawit, Daang-Hari, Governor’s Drive, Aguinaldo Highway, Silang, Sta. Rosa, Tagaytay-Sta. Rosa Road, Laguna Boulevard and the  Laguna Technopark.