MNTC formally awarded 28-year SCTEx contract

Manila North Tollways Corp., operator of North Luzon Expressway, said Tuesday that it was formally awarded the long-term contract to operate and maintain the 94-kilometer Subic Clark Tarlac Expressway.

The contract will be in the form of a business and operating agreement that will cover a period of 28 years, or until 2043.

The regulatory filing made by Metro Pacific Investments Corp., MNTC’s parent company led by Manuel V. Pangilinan, came a week after the state-run Bases Conversion and Development Authority launched a so-called SCTEX price challenge. The challenge drew no bidders against MNTC.

Under the terms of reference for the price challenge, the contract would be awarded to MNTC if the government would not receive any counter offer.

The awarding ends years of delays for the Metro Pacific group, which had to revise and improve its offer three times since 2011. MNTC won the project under the previous administration. But when the new administration took over, disagreements over the terms resulted in delays.

Under the SCTEx price challenge, interested parties were required to submit a price higher than the P3.5-billion upfront cash offer—on top of the 50-50 sharing of gross revenue—from MNTC, which then has the right to match the highest bid for the management of the toll road.