North Harbor concession bidders down to 2 consortiums

From six potential bidders, only two consortiums were allowed by the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) to bid for the 25-year concession of the Manila North Harbor. Metro Pacific Investment Corp. (MPIC) has teamed up with Harbour Centre Port, while Asian Terminals Inc.(ATI), partnered with DP World, one of its subsidiaries. PPA’s Special Bids and Awards Committee (SBAC), headed by Leopoldo E. Bungubung opened, the bid documents on Monday. Under the agreements, the Romero-owned Harbour Centre will have the majority share of 65 percent while MPIC’s stake was placed at 35 percent. Also during the bidding, the Magsaysays' National Marine Corp. submitted a letter to committee saying that it decided not to join the auction because negotiations with its foreign partners did not materialize. Pier 8 Arastre Stevedoring Services, Inc. did not submit bid documents, while the Prudential Brokerage firm was disqualified after submitting only one set of original documents instead of seven copies. Likewise, the SBAC asked ATI to submit a “waiver that it will not sue the government at any time during the bidding." “The said requirement was in place because we want to prevent any delay in the bidding," Bungubung, who is also the PPA's port district manager for Manila and Northern Luzon said. Aside from ATI, the SBAC also took note of MPIC ‘s failure to provide its Bureau of Internal Revenue form, which states its quarterly income for the past six months, however, it provided the committee instead a form showing its monthly income. While only two consortiums were able to qualify, Bungubung remains confident that the bidding will push through as scheduled. According to Bungubung, the winning bidder will have three years to upgrade and modernize the Manila North Harbor. Among the areas that would be upgraded are the container terminal, the general cargo terminal, and the passenger terminal complex. - GMANews.TV