A major overhaul of Metro Manila’s busiest transit line has drawn 74 local and international private companies from 14 countries expressing strong interest in taking over the system, the Department of Transportation said Tuesday.
The high turnout occurred during a joint market sounding activity at the Asian Development Bank headquarters in Mandaluyong City for the MRT-3 Capacity Expansion, Operations and Maintenance Public-Private Partnership Project.
Department of Transportation Undersecretary for railways Timothy John Batan said the turnout demonstrates the commercial viability of the project, which is backed by high passenger demand.
“This MRT-3 PPP, it is a very viable and promising project,” Batan said.
“This is an existing line, and we know that historically, we know its ridership can reach up to 620,000 to 630,000 people a day. In terms of ridership, in terms of demand so we are sure we have it here in MRT-3 and I think that’s the reason, ‘that viability is the reason why so many people attended our market sounding,” he said.
Batan said the participation of foreign and domestic firms indicates solid investor confidence in government infrastructure projects.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. previously directed transport officials to collaborate with the private sector to upgrade the rail line’s infrastructure and services.
“With the help of the private sector, the expansion of the MRT-3 can be done,” Department of Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez said.
“We are doing it for the hassle-free travel of commuters. And we are happy that many companies are interested in this project,” he said.
Under the terms of the public-private partnership, the winning bidder will assume the operations and maintenance of the existing line while ensuring uninterrupted service. The private operator will also manage the MRT-3 area at the Common Station, deploy new Dalian trains into commercial service, acquire additional rolling stock, and upgrade the signaling, depot, power or communication systems.
Multilateral lenders and regulatory bodies also signaled their commitment to the rail privatization plan.
“With this MRT-3 CEOM PPP Project, we’re proud and quite privileged to be a partner of the government of the Philippines in this endeavor to improve the overall connectivity for the Filipino people,” Asian Development Bank country director for the Philippines Andrew Jeffries said.
Public-Private Partnership Center of the Philippines executive director Rizza Blanco-Latorre also expressed strong support for the railway overhaul.
