2 firms bid for transport hub PPP

MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Transportation and Communications drew two offers for its first transportation hub public private partnership (PPP) deal to be located in southern Metro Manila even as most of the potential bidders snubbed the P2.5-billion project.

Transportation department spokesperson Michael Sagcal said the two companies that submitted offers for the Integrated Transport System-Southwest PPP were MWM Terminals, led by Megawide Construction Corp., and Gotianun-led Filinvest Land Inc.

The two were among 16 companies, including conglomerates San Miguel Corp., Ayala Corp. and Megaworld Corp., that acquired bid documents but did not submit any offers on the Dec. 22 deadline.

The project, which was rolled out in December 2013 but has suffered several delays, is being implemented using a single-stage process. This means qualification, technical and financial proposals are submitted at one time and will be evaluated within the next two months. A dual-stage structure means these are submitted and evaluated separately.

“Although we would have preferred to have more groups participating in the bid, we are nevertheless satisfied to have two established and reputable companies competing for the project,” Sagcal said.

For Megawide, the PPP deal, which is the first of three ITS projects in the pipeline, would allow the company mainly to expand its construction portfolio and diversify its business, according to Megawide chief marketing officer Louie Ferrer.

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

Ferrer noted that Megawide is partnering with Walter Mart, a retail group led by the Sy family of SM Investments Corp., for its ITS venture.

Meanwhile, large conglomerates such as Ayala said the ITS-Southwest lacked the necessary size to justify an investment. Miguel R. Camus