The Transportation Department said it will award the P64-billion contract to operate and build the LRT Line 1 extension to Dasmariñas from Bacoor, Cavite in the fourth quarter of 2016.
The agency said the bid submission for the project was scheduled by September and expected to be awarded between October and December of 2016.
Transportation said the international competitive public bidding for the project should be conducted within the rules and procedures on public bidding set under the build-operate and transfer law.
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 would have seven stations, namely Niyog, Tirona, Imus, Daang Hari, Salitran, Congressional Avenue and Governor’s Drive.
Light Rail Manila Consortium and San Miguel Corp. earlier said they might participate in the bidding of LRT Line 6.
The joint venture of Ayala Corp and Metro Pacific Investments Corp.—LRMC–earlier won the LRT Line 1 Cavite Extension Project.
Under the concession, LRMC will assume the operations and maintenance of the existing 20-kilometer LRT 1, and construct the 11.7-kilometer extension of the rail line southward from the Baclaran station to Bacoor, Cavite.
The consortium will build eight new stations after Baclaran. These will 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.
The project is expected to start by October 15 and should be operational within 54 months, or by May 2019.
AC Infra Holdings Corp., the infrastructure unit of Ayala, has invested P9 billion in Philippine rail projects under the government’s public private partnership program.
AC Infra’s total equity investment commitment for the LRT Line 1 Cavite Extension Project amounted to P8.5 billion at end-December in 2014.