The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) again has issued invitations for private firms to participate in various projects around the country worth a total of half a billion pesos.
The DOTC, through the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), on Friday said it would bid out contracts for the improvement of 10 provincial seaports estimated at P474 million.
“The PPA intends to … improve 10 ports in the country in anticipation of their increased passenger and cargo throughput,” the DOTC said in its invitation for bidders published in local newspapers.
Bulk of the funds, or about P230 million, will be used to improve the Port of Zamboanga in Zamboanga del Sur. New wharves as well two roll-on, roll-off ramps will be constructed at the port.
Also, the Port of Masbate in Bicol will get P71 million for the construction of a new wharf, the installation of rubber dock fenders to accommodate bigger vessels, and other “furnishing accessories.”
Ports in Cagayan de Oro, Iligan City, Ozamiz City, Albay, two ports in Roxas City and two ports in Iloilo—all operated by the PPA—are also up for improvement.
Each port project will be auctioned off separately. A pre-bid conference will be held on September 27 to clarify queries from interested parties. Work on each project is expected to be completed in less than a year.
In a separate invitation, the DOTC announced that it would renovate six Land Transportation Office (LTO) regional offices around the country for a total of P25.2 million.
Run-down LTO offices in Caraga, Butuan, and Surigao cities, as well as in municipalities in Patin-Ay, Tandag, and Bislog, are scheduled for improvement in the fourth quarter of this year.
The DOTC hopes that, by improving the LTO offices, the agency will get to raise service standards to “levels suitable to the Filipino public.”
The DOTC also called on interested parties to conduct feasibility studies for possible international airports in Camarines Sur, Bicol, and Calbayog in Samar Province.