DPWH to decide on San Miguel’s Calax bid Monday

The Department of Public Works and Highways has set another meeting today (Monday), after which a decision on the validity of San Miguel Corp.’s bid for the 47-kilometer Cavite-Laguna Expressway (Calax) public private partnership (PPP) deal could finally emerge.

The decision was required after at least one of three rival bidders sought SMC-backed Optimal Infrastructure Development Inc.’s disqualification for submitting an allegedly non-compliant bid when the conglomerate’s bid bond was only valid for 176 days instead of the required 180 days.

This deficiency was revealed during the opening of technical proposals for the P35.4-billion PPP deal, which calls for the construction of a new toll road that would help spur development in provinces south of Metro Manila.

Rafael Yabut, chair of the DPWH’s bids and awards committee, said a meeting on the matter was already held Friday but that they needed more time to evaluate.

Specifically, the DPWH asked the bidders to weigh in on the matter and as of Friday’s meeting, only letters filed by Malaysia’s MTD Group, MPCALA Holdings (Metro Pacific Tollways Corp.) and Team Orion, of Ayala Corp. and Aboitiz Land Inc. were included in the evaluation, Yabut said.

“We requested our consultants to again evaluate and include in their evaluation and report with their recommendation the manifestation of Optimal [Infrastructure],” Yabut said in a text message Friday.

He added that it was possible for the DPWH’s BAC to arrive at a decision today on whether SMC will be disqualified or allowed to proceed with the opening of financial proposals, which would show which group would likely bag the Calax project.  Miguel R. Camus