6 China firms vie for 2 infra projects

Six Chinese firms are vying for the first two big-ticket infrastructure projects to be rolled out through financing from China, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said.

“Under the Chinese protocol, we agreed with the Chinese that for their projects, they will name three candidate bidders” for each project, Dominguez told reporters Friday.

He said that for the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS)-led P10.9-billion New Centennial Water Source-Kaliwa Dam Project, the following companies expressed interest to bid: China Energy Engineering Co. Ltd.; Power China Ltd.; and a consortium of Guangdong Foreign Construction Co. Ltd. and Guangdong Yuantian Engineering Co. Ltd.

For the National Irrigation Administration (NIA)-led P2.7-billion Chico River Pump Irrigation Project, Dominguez said the potential bidders were China CAMC Engineering Co. Ltd.; China Geo-Engineering Corp., and Qingdao Municipal Construction Group Co. Ltd.

These two projects were included in the initial batch to be financed by official development assistance (ODA) from China.

“Currently, the NIA and the MWSS are conducting their due diligence in vetting the Chinese companies-contractors, subject to applicable laws, rules and regulations,” Dominguez said.

“Once the Chinese companies or contractors have been found to be qualified, legitimate and in good standing, the NIA and the MWSS will immediately commence the procurement process and undertake limited competitive bidding among the Chinese companies-contractors following applicable procedures and documents under Republic Act No. 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act,” Dominguez added.

According to Dominguez, the MWSS and the NIA were organizing the project management teams in which the DOF would be represented to help them make sure that financing arrangements would be done expeditiously and that there would be no delays.

While only Chinese contractors can bid for the two projects under their respective loan agreements, Dominguez said that most likely, they would subcontract some of the projects to local firms.

“And besides, our labor rules and regulations limit the number of foreigners that can work in these projects, so jobs will be created locally,” he said.