The provincial government of Cavite is inviting local and foreign groups to challenge the unsolicited proposal submitted by San Miguel Corp. to build the P27-billion Cavite-Batangas Expressway.
“The provincial government of Cavite invites local and international companies to submit comparative proposals under a competitive challenge bidding process to finance, design, construct, operate and maintain the project under a 35-year concessional period,” Cavite’s public-private-partnership selection committee chairman Renato Abutan said.
Cavite earlier received and approved the unsolicited proposal from San Miguel Holdings Corp., the infrastructure unit of SMC, for the financing, design, construction, operation and maintenance of the 27.06-kilometer Cavite-Batangas Expressway.
The project will traverse the municipalities of Silang, Amadeo, Tagaytay, Indang, Mendez, Alfonso in Cavite and Nasugbu in Batangas.
The committee said to obtain a copy of the request for comparative proposal and participate in the competitive challenge, any interested party should register and submit a written expression of intent, sign the prescribed non-disclosure agreement and pay the non-refundable participation fee of P1 million on or before the last day of registration and purchase of RFP.
It said the challengers should also submit qualification documents, technical and financial proposals as one bid package not later than Jan. 24, 2023 at 2 p.m.
“The provincial government of Cavite reserves the right to reject any or all comparative proposals, and other relevant tender or bidding documents, declare a failure of bidding and not award the contract for any justifiable and reasonable ground where an award will not benefit the province or the government of the Philippines, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected proponent[s] or bidder[s,]” Abutan said.
Meanwhile, San Miguel’s rival Metro Pacific Tollway’s Corp. proposed the P22.4-billion Cavite-Tagaytay-Batangas Expressway Project which would also connect the two provinces in southern Luzon.
The Department of Public Works and Highways granted the original proponent status to MPTC for the construction of CTBEX in 2018. CTBEX is a 50.4-kilometer expressway that will connect Cavite and Batangas, with a spur road to Tagaytay City and ultimately terminating in Nasugbu and another spur road to Tuy, Batangas.
CTBEX 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.