Laguna Lakeshore PPP project faces another delay

MANILA, Philippines–The Department of Public Works and Highways is giving would-be bidders an extra month to prepare their qualification documents for the massive Laguna Lakeshore Expressway Dike public-private partnership (PPP) project.

Ariel  Angeles, head of PPP Service of DPWH, said in a text message that the department decided last Friday to move the submission date for qualification documents to Feb. 27 from Jan. 14 this year.

Another delay was already expected as Rafael Yabut, DPWH undersecretary and chair of its special bids and awards committee, indicated last week that several bidders had sought extensions ranging from 14 days to 90 days.

At least 24 companies, including some of the country’s biggest conglomerates and property developers, had acquired bid documents for the P123-billion Laguna Lakeshore PPP deal.

The qualification process is a key step in determining which firms are capable of undertaking the PPP project, the biggest thus far under the Aquino administration.

Yabut said in an interview that the actual bid submission date, last set on July 6 this year, would likely be moved given the extension of submission of qualification documents.

“This should be the last extension,” said Yabut, adding that that decision to give more time was aimed at maximizing participation.

The submission of qualification documents for the  Laguna Lakeshore deal was first set on Oct. 16, 2014, before an extension was made upon several requests by bidders.

Concessions are now being made partly because of the complex nature of the PPP deal.

The Laguna Lakeshore project has several key features—a 47-kilometer tollroad running from Taguig in Metro Manila to Los Baños, Laguna, on top of a flood-control dike and a reclamation component involving 700 hectares of land in Laguna Lake near Taguig and Muntinlupa for mixed-use developments.

The land reclamation was included to make the project more attractive to investors, the PPP Center announced previously.

Much is riding on the success of the Laguna Lakeshore project, which is the DPWH’s next PPP deal after the controversial P35.4-billion Cavite Laguna Expressway project in 2014. The Calax project is set to undergo a rebidding process this year.

Angeles said they were still waiting for the approval of President Aquino before the government could formally publish an invite for the rebid.

Already, the Neda-Investment Coordination Committee approved last month the revised terms for the Calax, which will feature a “floor price” of P20.1 billion.

The project was stalled after San Miguel Corp. questioned its disqualification over a typographical error in its bid security last June. After several months, President Aquino agreed that SMC should not have been disqualified as he ordered a reversal of the DPWH’s decision, paving the way for a Calax rebid.

The DPWH is still looking to complete the Calax rebid exercise within the first half of 2015, Yabut said.