By Lawrence Agcaoili (The
Philippine Star) | Updated April 16, 2013 - 12:00am
MANILA,
Philippines - Diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) yesterday won the
bidding conducted by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for the
proposed Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Expressway project.
DPWH
Secretary Rogelio Singson said in an interview with reporters that SMC’s
wholly-owned subsidiary Optimal Infrastructure Development Corp. submitted the
winning bid of P11 billion up-front cash payment for the expressway project.
SMC’s bid won
over the P305 million submitted by Manila North Tollways Luzon Corp. (MNTC) of
publicly-held infrastructure conglomerate Metro Pacific Investments Corp.
(MPIC).
“We are
definitely happy by the aggressive bid of SMC with P11 billion. Aside from the
construction cost, government will receive P11 billion for the project,”
Singson said.
According to
Singson, bidders were given the option for an up-front cash payment or a
subsidy from the government from the locators of the Entertainment City being
developed by the state-run Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor).
“We
gave them the option of either availing the option of a subsidy coming from the
locators of entertainment city because originally we thought of subsidizing a
portion to make the project viable. We also gave them the option to submit a
component with subsidy and without subsidy and that is the up front payment,”
he said.
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“Obviously
the two bidders felt there was no need for a subsidy for this project as both
submitted bids with front loaded payment. In this case, the higher bidder for
the concession will be awarded the contract,” Singson added.
Earlier,
Pagcor offered P6.5-billion in infrastructure support fund for the project
particularly for the right-of-way acquisition.
“We
were struggling over the P6.5 billion subsidy that we worked with the locators
and now the bidders really do not need the subsidy and gave us P11 billion up
front,” the DPWH chief said.
The proposed
four-lane, 7.75-kilometer elevated expressway and 2.22 km at-grade feeder road
would alleviate existing and future traffic problems going to and from the NAIA
as well as Manila International Airport.
The
expressway project valued at P15.86 billion would provide access to NAIA
Terminals 1, 2, and 3 linking the Skyway in the South Luzon expressway (SLEX)
and the Manila-Cavite Toll Expressway (Cavitex).
It starts at
the existing Skyway then follows the existing road alignments over Sales
Avenue, Andrews Avenue, Domestic Road, and NAIA Road, and has entry/exit ramps
at Roxas Boulevard, Macapagal Boulevard, and Pagcor City.
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