The Department of Transportation (DOTr) plans to launch a solicited bidding process to select a private company for the operations and maintenance (O&M) of MRT Line 3 by the first quarter of 2025.
“We continue to develop our solicited PPP MRT3 project. We are being assisted by the Asian Development Bank. The first quarter of 2025 is our target [rollout of the bidding],” Transportation Undersecretary Timothy John Batan said.
Batan, however, clarified that while the government was pursuing a solicited bidding process for MRT 3, this would not preclude the private sector from submitting unsolicited proposals.
He said the recent resubmission by Metro Pacific Investments Corp. and Sumitomo Corp. for the MRT3 project under the PPP Code was returned by the PPP Center because it was “incomplete.”
Batan also said the agency would return the separate unsolicited proposals of San Miguel Corp. and MPIC due to the new PPP Code.
The DOTr, under the Duterte administration earlier granted SMC an original proponent status (OPS) to operate and maintain the MRT3 system.
An OPS gives a company a competitive advantage to its competitors during the competitive Swiss Challenge for the project.
The government operates MRT Line 3, while MRTC, owned by Metro Rail Transit Holdings II Inc. led by businessman Robert John Sobrepeña, is responsible for the design and construction of the EDSA rail transit system.
MRTC financed the construction of the modern rail system stretching along EDSA’s 10.5-meter median from North Ave. in Quezon City to Taft Avenue in Pasay City. The company infused P4.49 billion worth of equity into the project.
The train system is designed to carry in excess of 23,000 passengers per hour per direction, initially, and is expandable to accommodate 48,000 passengers per hour, per direction.
