The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is getting the services of a foreign audit team to review the contract it entered into with Chinese train manufacturer, Dalian Locomotive Corporation.
This is for the purchase of 48 new coaches for the Metro Rail Transit-3 (MRT-3).
The total project is worth P 3.8 billion.
“Nagdesisyon si [DOTr Secretary Arthur] Tugade na kumuha ng international third party independent audit team na mag-a-audit dito (Secretary Tugade has decided to get an international independent third party to audit this),” DOTr Undersecretary Cesar Chavez reports.
“Dahil sa hindi sila (referring to the MRT management and Dalian) makapagbigay ng kongkretong timeline na nagbibigay sa amin ng pagdududa ng reliability ng sinabmit nila (they can’t give a concrete timeline which raised our suspicion on the reliability of the documents they submitted),” explains Chavez.
He adds, government has paid over a billion pesos for the deal.
Late deliveries and problems in the coaches’ operability and signaling system mar the project.
The coaches remain idle since their arrival due to lack of sufficient testing and questions on their compatibility with the existing train system and safety.
