DOTr eyes September bidding for NSCR operator

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) expects to receive bids for the P229.32-billion contract to operate the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR), soon to be the country’s largest railway system, by end-September.

Transportation Undersecretary for Railways Timothy John Batan said the agency is continuing its discussions with prospective bidders ahead of the submission target. Another round of one-on-one meetings will be held this week.

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According to Batan, the consultations are focused mainly on addressing technical issues raised by prospective operators, given the scale and complexity of the project.

“Remember, our winning operator will operate one of the largest metro rail systems in the region, so there’s a lot of technical questions” Batan told reporters on the sidelines of the launch of the automated fare collection system for Light Rail Transit Line 2.

Initially, the DOTr targeted awarding the NSCR operations and maintenance (O&M) contract by October.

To encourage more participation, the DOTr had secured support from the Asian Development Bank, which proposed a partial credit guarantee of up to $800 million to reduce the government’s payment risk under the long-term public-private partnership arrangement.

At a pre-bid conference last year, the project drew interest from: Japanese firms Tokyo Metro, JR East, JR West, Mitsubishi Corp. and Sumitomo Corp.; French operators Transdev, RATP, Keolis and Alstom; and local companies First Balfour Inc. and San Miguel Corp.

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For its part, Sumitomo recently told Finance Secretary Frederick Go, who also serves as the country’s investment czar, that it intends to vie for the NSCR O&M contract.

The Japanese conglomerate already plays a significant role in the NSCR, supplying train sets through a P12-billion contract with Japan Transport Engineering Co. It is also constructing the Balagtas, Guiguinto and Malolos stations. INQ