DOTC wants integrated transport project started

Transportation Secretary Joseph Abaya INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) wants to move forward with its Integrated Transport System public private partnerships deals, which have been delayed partly due to questions on their impact on regulations to govern public vehicles that will use them.

In line with this, Transportation Secretary Joseph Abaya said his department was holding talks with the Department of Finance, which was “concerned” about whether DOTC should guarantee the franchise modifications of these operators.

The ITS system was designed to create intermodal hubs where provincial buses would disembark passengers to transfer to other in-city modes of transport such as rail lines, city buses and UV Express vans. The move was also aimed at easing congestion in Metro Manila.

To do this, the franchise should be modified so these public vehicle operators would use the ITS projects, Abaya said.

“From my end, it should [be modified]. If not, it will affect its viability,” Abaya said.

“I think LTFRB [Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board] has the power to do that. And we should commit to that, otherwise, who will bid?” Abaya said.

The DOTC is currently seeking bidders for two ITS projects, one is the P2.5-billion ITS Southwest located near Manila-Cavite Expressway and the P4-billion ITS-South, near the Food Terminal Inc. compound in Taguig. A third ITS project is being planned for the northern part of Metro Manila but the DOTC has yet to decide on the location.

The DOTC extended the qualification deadline for the ITS-South project to Nov. 4, a bid bulletin showed on Oct. 17.

For the ITS-Southwest deal, the transport department is hoping to finish the concession agreement this month, which would place the bid submission date around November this year, PPP Center executive director Cosette Canilao said earlier.

Among the prospective bidders for the ITS-Southwest deal are Ayala Corp., San Miguel Corp., Metro Pacific Investments Corp. and Robinsons Land. Meanwhile, five groups, including San Miguel Corp. and Ayala Land Inc.

The ITS-Southwest PPP bid invite was first published in December 27, 2013 while the ITS-South deal was rolled out on Aug. 1, 2014.