The Public Works Department is set to award the multibillion-peso toll road linking the North Luzon Expressway and South Luzon Expressway to the tollway unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. after no company submitted comparative proposals to challenge the latter’s offer.
“Because there is no other challenger, so we have to prepare resolution of award recommending Metro Pacific and it will be submitted to the Secretary,” Eugenio Pipo Jr., chairman of Special Bids and Awards Committee of the department, said.
The Public Private Partnership Center earlier identified seven companies that purchased bid documents for the Swiss Challenge of NLEx-SLEx Connector Road as San Miguel Holdings Corp., Obrascon Huarte Lain SA, Hunan Road and Bridge Corp. and four law firms.
The government decided to subject the project to a Swiss challenge after the Justice Department issued a legal opinion, saying the National Economic and Development Authority board’s decision to implement the project as a joint venture was “without factual basis or jurisdiction.”
Pipo said the agency planned to award the NLEx-SLEx connector road to Metro Pacific Tollways Development Corp. before the end of this month.
He added the concession agreement on the project was expected to be signed in November this year.
“We’re happy that the Swiss Challenge process is almost over. We move to the next stage which is the issuance of notice of award then the conduct of detailed design. There will also be right of way acquisition,” Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. president and chief executive Rodrigo Franco said.
“We hope construction for the first section can start in 2018,” Franco said.
He said the company would invest P15.74 billion on the NLEx-SLEx project, while the government would spend P7.46 billion for right of way acquisition.
The implementation of the project is scheduled from November 2016 to February 2022.
The project involves the construction of an eight-kilometer, four-lane toll road linking the North Luzon Expressway and South Luzon Expressway, passing through Metro Manila and using the existing Philippine National Railway alignment as its route.
The Public Works Department will implement the project, which has a total estimated cost of P23.2 billion and a concession period of 35 years.
Citra Metro Manila Tollways Corp., which is separately constructing the P26.7-billion Skyway Stage 3 Project, will build the five-kilometer common alignment from Polytechnic University of the Philippines in Sta. Mesa, Manila to Buendia in Makati City of the NLEx-SLEx project.