Gov’t opts for MRT 3 solicited bidding

The unsolicited proposals by Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) and San Miguel Corp. (SMC) to handle the operations and maintenance of Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3 may soon be scrapped as the government has decided to take the matter into its own hands.

Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista, in a recent interview, said they prefer a solicited bidding process for privatization of the railway traversing Edsa corridor in order to gain the upper hand. Conducting a solicited bidding would enable the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to lay out the terms of the contract in their own accord, he stressed.

In solicited bids, the government invites companies to look into a project through parameters it will provide, including the cost and ways by which an infrastructure will have to be operated. Unsolicited proposals, meanwhile, are initiated by private sector proponents.

Timothy John Batan, transport undersecretary for planning and project development, said they would inform MPIC and SMC about their decision “within the month.”

“We will be writing not just to the MRT 3 unsolicited proposals but to all proponents [of] unsolicited proposals that we have,” he said. “We will be acting on it very soon.”

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The conglomerates led by tycoons Manuel Pangilinan and Ramon Ang can still participate in the bidding processes based on the government’s terms of reference.

This is likened to the P170.6-billion Ninoy Aquino International Airport rehabilitation, whereby an entity, Manila International Airport Consortium, had submitted an unsolicited proposal but the DOTr opted for solicited bidding. INQ