Four firms vie for P4-B transport hub

Four groups submitted qualification documents for the P4-billion public private partnership (PPP) deal aimed at establishing a transportation hub in Taguig City.

Transportation department spokesman Michael Sagcal identified the four companies Tuesday as Ayala Land Inc., Datem Inc., Filinvest Land Inc. and Megawide Construction Corp. Not all companies that bought pre-bid documents, like San Miguel Corp., submitted qualification requirements.

The department would still need to evaluate the documents to determine which companies will proceed with the bidding process, he said.

The ITS South project will connect passengers from the Laguna and Batangas areas to transport systems, including a planned North-South Commuter Rail, city buses and taxis, the transportation department said.

It will be located near the Food Terminal Inc. compound in southern Metro Manila.

The project would also include the main   passenger building, arrival and departure bays, public information systems, ticketing and baggage holding facilities and so-called park-ride facilities.

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 MRT3 or LRT1 rail lines, city buses and UV Express vans. The move was also aimed at easing congestion within Metro Manila.

The ITS South is the second of this kind to be rolled out under the Aquino administration’s PPP program.

The bidding process for the similar ITS-Southwest project, located along the Manila Cavite Expressway, will start on Dec. 1 this year, a separate memorandum showed.

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

It is also planning to launch an ITS project located in Northern part of Metro Manila. Among the locations being reviewed here are the Veterans Memorial Hospital and Golf Course and Manila Seedling Bank, both located in Quezon City.