BCDA to bid out SCTEx deal in 1st quarter ’15

MANILA, Philippines–The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) is looking to bid out and award the long-term contract to maintain and operate the 94-kilometer Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx) within the first quarter of 2015, its top official said.

The BCDA approved the new terms last week for a so-called price challenge as it seeks better terms for the tollroad contract that was won five years ago by Manuel V. Pangilinan-led Manila North Tollways Corp., the operator of North Luzon Expressway.

BCDA president and CEO Arnel Paciano Casanova said in an interview last week that the new terms would be published this week, which would allow the price challenge process to formally begin.

“We expect that this will all be done not later than the first quarter of next year,” Casanova said, referring to the bid submission and awarding of the 28-year SCTEx contract that will end in 2043.

“We know this process has been delayed for quite some time so I think that is a reasonable length of time,” he added.

Casanova said he expected parties to top MNTC’s offer, the latest version of which involves a cash offer of P3.5 billion and a 50-50 sharing of gross revenues with the government. MNTC, which won the SCTEx contract under the previous administration, had to renegotiate and improve its offer three times before the Aquino administration decided that a price challenge would be required.

In this price challenge, other groups can offer better terms but MNTC has the option to match these to win the project.

In a statement last week, the BCDA said Malacañang “ordered the price challenge in the interest of transparency.”

Apart from MNTC, two other groups—San Miguel Corp. and Malaysia’s AlloyMTD Group—said they might consider bidding for the SCTEx. Ayala Corp. managing director John Eric Francia said last month that they were not keen on the SCTEx contract.

BCDA said in its statement that other foreign and local firms subject to eligibility requirements were expected to participate in the bidding process, which starts this week. They could either be registered corporations or joint ventures and consortia, it said.

MNTC earlier said it plans to invest P400 million to integrate SCTEx with NLEx to facilitate seamless travel between the two expressways.

SCTEx, which was mainly funded by a loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica), was fully opened on July 25, 2008, information on the BCDA’s website showed.