Bidders for part of MRT-LRT loop project to be evaluated

REPORT FROM BUSINESSWORLD THE BIDDERS for the remaining package of the P6.3-billion MRT-LRT loop project is to be determined Tuesday as the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) checks the eligibility of the four parties that bought bid documents. The prequalification stage of Package C or the construction of the P2-billion electromechanical component of the rail linkage system is being redone after the LRTA declared a failed bidding after only one group, the joint venture of D.M. Consunji, Inc.-First Balfour, Inc. qualified last November. The prequalification process is a procedure done by the LRTA to determine if a party is eligible to join the financial and technical bidding process. Apart from the Consunji-Lopez joint venture, other potential bidders for Package C are F.F. Cruz and Co., Inc.-Filipinas Systems, Inc.; Integrated Energy Systems and Resources, Inc.; and Commbuilders and Technology Philippines Corp. In a phone interview, LRTA Spokesperson Jinky Jorgio said that in the event that only one party gets LRTA’s nod, Package C would not be re-auctioned, keeping the project on track of its schedule. He noted that this was because Tuesday’s bidding is the second time that the auction would be conducted. Previously, the LRTA allowed three parties to join the formal bidding for Package A involving the construction of viaduct and pedestrian overpass and Package B involving the construction or alteration of stations. DMCI-First Balfour qualified for the 2.733-kilometer (km) segment of Package A, while Cavite Ideal International Construction and Development Corp. joined the Consunji and Lopez group for the package’s 2.744-km stretch. Meanwhile, for Package B, DMCI-First Balfour was joined by F.F. Cruz-FilSystems. Ms. Jorgio said the formal bidding for all the MRT-LRT loop components wil be done simultaneously in March and the construction should follow in May. The P6.3-billion rail linkage project will connect the Light Rail Transit Line-1’s Monumento station with the Metro Rail Transit’s North Avenue station. — Marian Grace S. Ramos/BusinessWorld