Press Release

April 21, 2013

DOTC SHORTLISTS 5 FIRMS FOR

P350-M LRT2 EAST EXTENSION ENGINEERING WORKS

Manila, Philippines – The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) has shortlisted five (5) firms to perform consulting and engineering works for the 4.2-kilometer eastward extension of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 2 System to the Masinag area in Cainta, Rizal.

In a Notice of Eligibility and Shortlisting issued last week, the transportation agency informed the following groups that they had qualified to bid for the P350-Million project:

• Foresight Development and Surveying Company, in association with Soosung Engineering Co. Ltd. and Korea Rail Network Authority Consortium

• J.F. Cancio & Associates, in association with Development Engineering & Management Corporation, Engineering & Development Corporation of the Philippines, Filipinas Dravo Corporation, TCGI Engineers, Urban Integrated Consultants, Inc., and Oriental Consultants Co., Ltd.

• Schema Konsult, Inc., in association with Pertconsult International, KE Asia, Inc., DCCD Engineering Corporation, Key Engineers Co., and Proconsult, Inc.

• Systra Philippines, in association with Philipps Technical Consultants Corporation

• Science and Vision for Technology, Inc., in association with Yooshin Engineering Corporation

The shortlisted firms will vie to provide the DOTC with a Detailed Engineering Design for the rail extension, as well as Construction Supervision services for the civil works phase.

This project was originally offered earlier this year, but the Transport Department was forced to declare a failure of bidding in February when only one of the interested parties was able to meet the eligibility requirements of Republic Act No. 9184, or the Procurement Law.

“We wish to remind bidders to be mindful of meeting all requirements in the law and in our bid parameters.  The DOTC works hard to offer the best opportunities to the private sector, and it expects bidders to likewise give their best proposals to government.  We will continue to follow what procurement laws and rules require for our bids, because that is our responsibility to the public,” the Transport Department stressed.

The LRT2 East (Masinag) Extension Project entails the extension of the existing 13.8-kilometer system from Santolan, Pasig City to the intersection of the Marcos and Sumulong Highways in Rizal. It will serve an additional 130,000 train commuters from the current number of 240,000.

Press Release

April 18, 2013

DOTC SET TO OPEN QUALIFICATION DOCUMENTS

FOR MACTAN-CEBU INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT PPP PROJECT NEXT WEEK

Manila, Philippines – Following the success of last week’s Opening of Qualification Documents for the Automatic Fare Collection System (AFCS) Project, the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) is set to conduct the corresponding event for another Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Project, its third one to be rolled out so far.

The Transport Department announced today that interested parties in the P17.5-Billion Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) Project will submit their eligibility documents to the joint DOTC-Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA) Prequalification, Bids, and Awards Committee (PBAC) on Monday, 22 April 2013.

“We are optimistic that the MCIA Project will generate the same level of interest from major local and international companies as what we saw from the AFCS Project.  We made sure that this project will also be attractive to investors in order to foster competitive and open bidding,” said the DOTC.

Competition is an essential feature of public bidding, as it encourages interested groups to submit better proposals for the government.  A total of 12 companies purchased Invitation Documents for the MCIA Project.

According to the agency, it expects foreign airport operators to take part in the bid because of the lack of local expertise in that area.

“Based on our requirements, Philippine companies will have to partner with established airport operators from other countries,” the DOTC noted.  “This will benefit our domestic air transport industry, as technology transfer will give local players the opportunity to learn from more advanced and more experienced airport operators.”

In turn, the DOTC assures the private sector that the joint DOTC-MCIA PBAC will maintain a level playing field in the bid by upholding transparency and fairness, hallmarks of the Transport Department’s procurement reforms.

The MCIA Project entails the construction of a new world-class international passenger terminal building with a capacity of about 8 million passengers per year; renovation and expansion of the existing terminal; installation of all the required equipment; and the operation of both new and existing facilities.

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Manila, Philippines – The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) today announced that it has decided to push back the transfer of the gateway to Northern Mindanao from the old Lumbia Airport in Cagayan de Oro City to the new P 7.8-Billion Laguindingan Airport by one-and-a-half months to June 15, 2013, in order to avoid disrupting passengers’ travel plans over the summer.

The Transport Department has conducted a walk-through at the Laguindingan Airport and was very pleased with the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines’ (CAAP) preparations for the intended April 30 opening.  However, CAAP has received requests from airline companies to postpone the transfer until after the summer peak season, because the April 30 opening would require the cancellation of several daily trips.

According to the airline companies, their representatives were encountering difficulties in reaching a substantial number of passengers who had already purchased tickets for flights in April and May, to inform them of changes in their flight itineraries.

“It is in the best interest of the government and of the airlines to deliver safe and convenient services to the public,” said the DOTC. “As we took stock of the assessment of both CAAP and the airline companies that the Laguindingan Airport is already a safer alternative to the Lumbia Airport, we again listen to their inputs saying that postponing the transfer will be better for passenger convenience.”

“The postponement will give the airlines ample time to inform their customers of their new flight schedules at Laguindingan Airport.  This will lessen the possibility of disrupting travel plans and causing inconvenience to the riding public,” added the DOTC.

The airlines which operate at Cagayan de Oro are Cebu Pacific Air, Philippine Airlines, PAL Express, and Zest Air.  They serve a combined total average of over 2,000 passengers daily.

The Laguindingan Airport is a key infrastructure project which is crucial to unlocking the Cagayan de Oro-Iligan Corridor to more tourism- and agriculture-oriented activities.

The government has previously announced that it will be temporarily operated by CAAP using Visual Flight Rules (VFR) until its air navigation equipment is fully in place by May 2014.