The Public Works Department on Friday invited local and international companies to challenge the proposal of the tollway unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. to build and operate an expressway linking the north and south of Manila.
Eugenio Pipo Jr., Special Bids and Awards Committee chairman of the Public Works Department for civil works of PPP projects, said it was inviting local and international companies to submit competitive proposals under a Swiss Challenge bidding process to finance, design, construct, operate and maintain the North Luzon Expressway-South Luzon Expressway Connector Project under a 37-year concession agreement.
The agency published the invitation to submit proposal for the connector road after Metro Pacific Tollways Development Corp. and its subsidiary, Manila North Tollways Corp., the original proponent of the project, signed a joint certification with the Public Works Department signifying the completion of successful negotiations to build the NLEX-SLEX Connector Road Project as an unsolicited proposal.
This means the original proponent agreed on the terms and conditions of the project, which include the implementation of the Swiss Challenge and the agreed draft toll concession agreement submitted to the Department of Finance and the Office of the Solicitor General .
The board of the National Economic and Development Authority in December requested MNTC to lower the internal rate of return to 10.87 percent from 12.09 percent, by reducing the opening tariff from P100 to P87.
Pipo said a single-stage qualification and bidding for the NLEX-SLEX Connector Road project will be conducted and the bid parameter should be the highest offered concession fee as an additional consideration for the right to use the right of way requirements of the connector project.
“In the event that a comparative proponent submits a proposal better than that submitted by the original proponent, the original proponent shall have the ‘right-to-match’ the best offer or such proposal in accordance with BOT Law and Revised IRR,” Pipo added.
The instructions to comparative proponents and other relevant qualifications and tender documents, which costs P200,000, will be available from April 12 until May 24.
The comparative proposals should be submitted to the Public Works Department on or before July 5 at 2 p.m.
The P23.2 billion NLEX-SLEX Connector Road project involves the construction of an eight-kilometer, four-lane toll road lining the North Luzon Expressway and South Luzon Expressway, passing through Metro Manila and using the existing Philippine National Railway alignment as its route.
Citra Metro Manila Tollways Corp., which is separately constructing the P26.7-billion Skyway Stage 3 Project, will build the five-kilometer common alignment from Polytechnic University of the Philippines in Sta. Mesa, Manila to Buendia in Makati City of the NLEx-SLEx project.