Metro Pacific Investments Corp. said it is open to jointly bid with San Miguel Corp. for the privatization of the operations and maintenance of Metro Rail Transit Line 3 and Light Rail Transit Line 2.
“We probably would participate in that. I guess it depends eventually on the terms of reference for the bid that the government will draft,” Manuel V. Pangilinan, chairman of MPIC said.
“In principle, because we submitted an unsolicited proposal and the government has decided to bid it out, we will likely participate depending on the terms,” he added.
On the likelihood of a joint bid with San Miguel, Pangilinan said “I think it might be good for us to reach out to SMC and see what we can do. Joint bid na lang, di ba?”
“There are ongoing discussions in other areas with them,” he added.
DOTr Undersecretary for planning and project Timothy John Batan earlier said the agency “will act within the month” on the pending proposals from San Miguel Corp. and Metro Pacific Investments Corp. to rehabilitate and operate and maintain the MRT3
Batan said the direction of the government was to bid out the MRT 3 through solicited Public Private Partnership, adding that it would be bundled with LRT Line 2.
The DOTr will likely issue the invitation to bid for the rail lines by the second half this year.
The agency tapped the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for MRT 3 and International Finance Corp. (IFC) for LRT Line 2 O&M privatization.
The government operates MRT Line 3, while MRTC, owned by Metro Rail Transit Holdings II Inc. led by businessman Robert John Sobrepeña, is responsible for the design and construction of the EDSA rail transit system.
MRTC financed the construction of the modern rail system stretching along EDSA’s 10.5-meter median from North Ave. in Quezon City to Taft Avenue in Pasay City. The company infused P4.49 billion worth of equity into the project.
The train system is designed to carry in excess of 23,000 passengers per hour per direction, initially, and is expandable to accommodate 48,000 passengers per hour, per direction.
