The provincial government of Cavite is preparing for the start of the Swiss Challenge in November on San Miguel Corp.’s unsolicited proposal to construct a P27-billion expressway from Cavite to Batangas.
Cavite Governor Jonvic Remulla said the province’s public-private partnership selection committee began the process of preparing the tender documents for the Swiss Challenge.
Swiss Challenge is a form of procurement, usually required in an unsolicited project, where other parties are given an opportunity to challenge the bid of the proponent.
“We are looking at the first week of November for the publication of the request for proposals,” Remulla said.
The Cavite government earlier granted an original proponent status to San Miguel Holdings Corp. for the development, design, financing, maintenance and construction of the Cavite-Batangas Expressway Project.
San Miguel Holdings is the infrastructure arm of San Miguel Corp., the country’s largest and most diversified conglomerate.
The project is a 27.06-kilometer toll road from Silang to Amadeo, Tagaytay, Indang, Mendez and Afonso in Cavite and Nasugbu Batangas.
Remulla said the proposal of the San Miguel Group was done under a local PPP code.
“Its approval was in consonance with all applicable laws and regulations. To what effect it has on the MPIC [Metro Pacific Investments Corp.] project with the DPWH [Department of Public Works and Highways] is beyond my control,” he said.
“Our evaluation only covered the SMC project. We were never consulted by DPWH nor NEDA [National Economic and Development Authority] regarding the MPIC proposal,” Remulla said.
Remulla was referring to Metro Pacific Tollway’s Corp.’s P22.4-billion Cavite-Tagaytay-Batangas Expressway Project with DPWH.
The Public Works Department granted the original proponent status to MPTC for the construction of CTBEX in 2018. The project is still under NEDA’s evaluation.
CTBEX is a 50.4-kilometer proposed expressway that would connect Cavite and Batangas, with a spur road to Tagaytay City and ultimately terminating in Nasugbu and another spur road to Tuy, Batangas.
It is expected to decongest about 23,000 vehicles daily from the nearby thoroughfares.
The project will start at Silang East Interchange of the Cavite-Laguna Expressway. The alignment will traverse the towns of Silang, Amadeo, Mendez, Alfonso and Tagaytay in Cavite and Nasugbu in Batangas.
MPTC president and chief executive Rodrigo Franco earlier said the company submitted a letter to the DPWH to “reiterate” its proposal to build an expressway from Cavite to Batangas.
“We were worried about the news,” referring to the awarding by the Cavite provincial government of original proponent status to San Miguel Corp. on the proposed Cavite-Batangas Expressway.