AROUND five local and foreign companies have expressed interest in bidding for the operations and maintenance (O&M) contract of the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) project, the Department of Transportation (DoTr) said.
“The original schedule is either the last week of October or first week of November (for the bidding) as suggested by our transaction advisor, the ADB (Asian Development Bank). So far, I think there were four or five companies (interested),” Transportation Acting Secretary Giovanni Z. Lopez told reporters on the sidelines of a transport conference on Wednesday.
These companies are a mix of local and foreign firms, Mr. Lopez said, adding that the names of these firms cannot be disclosed before the auction officially starts.
In September, the agency said it was working double time to secure an operator for the NSCR project. It was targeting early October for the release of bid documents following the conclusion of its final roadshow, which drew interest from foreign firms.
For Rene S. Santiago, an international consultant on transport development and former president of the Transportation Science Society of the Philippines, local companies are capable and well-suited to operate such a massive rail line like NSCR.
Philippine-based companies are also capable of operating and managing the NSCR, but foreign firms may have the advantage when it comes to channeling profits, Mr. Santiago said in a Viber message on Thursday.
“The dice are loaded against local firms. Foreign consultants wrote the specs; foreign bidders held the playbook; and local companies would play in dim light. The bidding rules are also pro-foreign, while locking the government into massive subsidies,” Mr. Santiago said.
The agency has conducted roadshows in Japan, Singapore and France to promote the P229.32-billion O&M contract for the NSCR project.
Transportation Undersecretary Timothy John R. Batan said that the contract for the NSCR O&M will be for a period of 15 years.
The agency is fine-tuning the bidding documents for the concession to address the feedback and comments from roadshow participants which include investment returns, Mr. Batan said.
The ADB, which serves as the Transportation department’s technical advisory services provider for the project, previously said the DoTr aims to award the concession by March or April next year, with the formal bidding process expected to take around six months.
The 147-kilometer NSCR will connect Malolos, Bulacan with Clark International Airport, and Tutuban, Manila with Calamba, Laguna. The P873-billion project is co-financed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the ADB. It will have 35 stations and three depots.
According to the DoTr, the NSCR can begin partial operations of the Valenzuela to Malolos line by 2027; while the Malolos to Clark segment can start operations by 2028. — Ashley Erika O. Jose
