Korean-Pinoy group gets P3.81-B MRT-3 maintenance contract

The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) on Thursday said it has awarded the P3.81-billion maintenance contract of the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) to a Korean-Filipino joint venture.

The group is made up of Busan Transportation Corp., Edison Development & Construction, Tramat Mercantile Inc., TMCICorp Inc., and Castan Corp.

The three-year contract starts on January 5, 2016.

"The long contract period will allow the new service provider to procure the necessary spare parts needed to increase the number of operating trains, especially during peak hours," the DOTC said.

The contract calls for the general overhauling of the trains and total replacement of the signaling system.

The MRT-3 is currently being maintained by the joint venture of Germany's Schunk Bahn-und Industrietechnik GmbH and Filipino firm Comm Builders & Techonology Phils. Corp. (SBI-CB&T JV) under a short-term contract.

However, officials of SBI-CBT&T said they were barred from entering their office at the North Avenue MRT-3 station supposedly on orders of MRT-3 General Manager Roman Buenafe. The Filipino-German joint venture has sued MRT and DOTC officials for breach of contract.

SBI-CBT&T filed a graft case against MRT-3 General Manager Roman Buenafe and four other government officials for supposedly not paying for spare parts and maintenance services.

The DOTC also said it expects to operate a new train early next year. "MRT-3 passengers can expect one new running train by the end of Q1 2016," it said.

A new light rail vehicle (LRV) for the MRT-3 arrived on Wednesday.

"After it is processed by the Bureau of Customs and transported to the MRT-3 Depot, tests on the different components will be conducted until February," the department said.

The refurbishment of 12 Schindler-brand escalators at MRT stations will be completed next week, it added. – Jon Viktor Cabuenas/VS, GMA News