3 groups prequalify for Laguna Lakeshore Expressway PPP project

MANILA – Three groups have prequalified for the Aquino administration’s biggest public-private partnership (PPP) project to date, with a fourth still under evaluation.

The P122.8-billion Laguna Lakeshore Expressway and Dike (LLED) Project is the most ambitious PPP venture so far, involving the construction of a flood control dike, an expressway on top of it, and the reclamation of over 700 hectares of land for commercial development.

“Initially, 3 were found to be prequalified, namely Trident, San Miguel Holdings and Alloy MTD,” Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Undersecretary Rafael Yabut told Interaksyon.com.

Team Trident is composed of Trident Infrastructure and Development Corporation, Ayala Land Inc, Megaworld Corporation, Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc, and SM Prime Holdings Inc.

The Alloy-Pavi Hanshin LLEDP Consortium consists of Malaysia’s Alloy MTD Capital Berhad, Prime Asset Ventures Inc, and Hanshin Engineering Construction.

Yabut said DPWH is still evaluating Rainbow Group, which initially was disqualified after it submitted prequalification documents that failed to comply with the agency’s requirements.

He expects to complete the evaluation of the Rainbow Group on Monday.

The Rainbow Group is composed of Rainbow Holdings Inc, Pt. Nusa Konstrukski Enjiniring Tbk (NKE), The No. 4 Metallurgical Constn. Company of China Ltd. (4MCC), Shindong-Ah Constn. Company Ltd. (SCC), Korea Expressway Corporation (KEC), Sta. Lucia Land Inc (SLI), Kunhwa Engineering & Consulting Company Ltd. and Dong Myeong Engineering Consultants & Architecture Company Ltd.

Prequalified bidders have until July 6 to submit their technical and financial proposals. Technical proposals will be evaluated between July 7 and 26, while the financial proposals will be examined between July 27 and August 10.

The DPWH aims to award the project on August 21 and sign the concession agreement on September 20.

The LLED concession will last 37 years, including 7 years for design and construction and 30 years for operation and maintenance. It will be financed mainly by private capital with no government subsidy, except for right-of-way costs.

The LLED is the fourth PPP project of the DPWH after the P34.5 billion Cavite Laguna Expressway (CALAX), the bidding for which Team Orion, a joint venture between AC Infrastructure Holdings Corporation and Aboitiz Land Inc, topped. The government, however, decided to rebid the CALAX, after San Miguel Corporation’s Optimal Infrastructure Development Inc successfully challenged its disqualification.

Other DPWH projects under PPP that had been awarded include the P15.5-billion NAIA Expressway and the P1.96-billion Daang Hari-SLEX Link.