1 foreign, 3 local groups vying for LRT 1 extension contract

Four groups—three local and one foreign—are vying for the contract to extend the Light Rail Transit (LRT) line 1 from Parañaque to Cavite, currently the largest infrastructure project being bid out by the Aquino administration.

Conglomerate San Miguel Corp., a consortium led by the group of Manuel V. Pangilinan and the Ayala family, and Consunji-led DMCI Holdings were among the five local groups that submitted prequalifying documents for a significant portion of the P60-billion project.

Two other local firms—EcoRail of the Romeros and Light Rail Transit Systems—submitted the required documents but were later disqualified as they failed to meet the 2 p.m. deadline on Monday.

Pangilinan’s Metro Pacific Investments Corp. and Ayala Corp. submitted their documents as Light Rail Manila Consortium. The San Miguel group was represented by subsidiary SMC Infra Resources.

MTD Samsung, a consortium between Malaysia’s MTD group and South Korea’s Samsung, was the sole foreign bidder.

A total of 33 companies bought prequalification documents for the project but only six actually submitted the required documents, the Department of Transportation and Communications said.

The prequalification documents went through initial screening by the DOTC’s special bids and awards committee on Monday. A more detailed assessment of the documents will be done in the coming weeks, officials said.

“The evaluation of documents will be done under circumstances that will not create any doubts on the process,” Transportation Undersecretary Jose Perpetuo “Juju” Lotilla said Monday.

“The DOTC does not believe that mysteries are part of the government,” he said.

The six companies seek to be qualified, based on their technical and financial capabilities, to bid for the private-sector portion of the LRT Cavite extension project. The final list of qualified bidders will be released on a later date.

The project involves the construction of 12 kilometers of tracks and the installation of electromechanical and signaling systems. This portion is worth P30 billion and will be funded entirely by the private sector.

The winning bidder will also be responsible for the operation of the entire LRT line 1 once the extension is completed.

The other half of the project—the acquisition of new train cars—will be handled by the government and will cost another P30 billion. This will be financed through an overseas development assistance (ODA) loan.

The three-decade-old LRT line 1 runs from Baclaran, Parañaque, to Roosevelt, Quezon City, along Taft and Rizal Avenues and Epifanio de los Santos Avenue.