LRT rehab project attracts six firms

LRT Line 1: Up for rehab

Several foreign and local companies are vying for the contract to rehabilitate the 30-year-old Light Rail Transport (LRT) line 1, documents from the Department of Transportation and Communications (DoTC) showed.

The contract, worth P1.06 billion, is among the first set of infrastructure projects the DoTC wanted to bid out this year as the government tries to accelerate spending.

Construction giant DM Consunji Inc. (DMCI), Pilipinas Hino Inc., Jorgman Development and Planning Corp., Joratech Corp. and Miescorrail Inc. were the local bidders that have so far sent inquiries to the DoTC about the contract, indicating their interest to participate in the project.

DMCI is the parent firm of publicly listed DMCI Holdings Inc. Pilipinas Hino, for its part, is a joint venture among Filipino investors, Hino Motors Itd. and Marubeni Corp.

Miescorrail is a subsidiary of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), the country’s largest power utility now under the control of businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan.

Meanwhile, Joratech Corp. is a local industrial company specializing in the maintenance of railway tracks. The company has been involved in several government rail projects, including the maintenance of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) rails, the rehabilitation of the Philippine National Railways (PNR) commuter line and the aborted first phase of the controversial Northrail project.

Japanese industrial giant Sumitomo Corp. had also sent in inquiries to the DoTC regarding the project.

The rehabilitation of the LRT line 1, which runs from Baclaran, Parañaque, to Roosevelt, Quezon City, will be done in five phases, the most extensive of which is the replacement of 23 kilometers of train tracks.

The second phase will be the replacement of corroded and damaged gantry anchor bolts, which hold up the overhead cables that deliver electricity to run the trains.

The DoTC also wanted the procurement of modified “bogie” frames, or chassis, that support train cars’ bodies, propulsion, suspension, braking and other systems.