The Transportation Department said Friday it extended the deadline for the bid submission of the P65.09-billion Light Rail Transit Line 6 to next month on the request of prospective bidders.
“In view of the requests for extension and in order to give bidders ample time to prepare their submission, please be advised that the dialled for submission of pre-qualification documents [is] moved from May 12 to June 2,” Edwin Lopez, chairman, pre-qualification, bids and awards committee of the Transportation said.
Metro Pacific Light Rail Corp., a unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp., and San Miguel Holdings Corp., a unit of San Miguel Corp., earlier purchased pre-qualification documents for the LRT Line 6 private-public partnership project.
MPIC vice president for business development Karim Garcia earlier asked the Transportation Department to extend the deadline by six months from the original date of April 5.
Garcia said the government should set a realistic timeline for the project.
MPIC’s concern over the timetable of the bidding was supported by San Miguel Corp., another company that was looking into the project.
The Transportation Department earlier said the opening of the bids for the project would be in September while awarding was expected by October.
The project is a 19-kilometer railway from Niyog, Bacoor, which is the terminus of the P64.9-billion LRT 1 Cavite extension to Dasmariñas City.
The proposed LRT Line 6 will have seven stations at Niyog, Tirona, Imus, Daang Hari, Salitran, Congressional Avenue and Governor’s Drive.
Light Rail Manila Consortium, the joint venture of Ayala Corp. and MPIC, earlier won the LRT Line 1 Cavite extension project from Baclaran station to Bacoor.
Under the concession, LRMC will assume the operations and maintenance of the existing 20-kilometer LRT Line 1 and construct the 11.7-kilometer extension of the rail line to Bacoor.
The consortium will build eight new stations after Baclaran. These include Aseana, MIA, Asia World, Ninoy Aquino, Dr. Santos, Las Piñas, Zapote and Niyog.
The project will increase the span of LRT 1 from 20.7 kilometers to 32.4 kms, and provide commuters from Cavite and other parts of Parañaque and Las Piñas access to central Manila.
