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THE
Philippine government declared a failure of bidding for
the Manila North Harbor’s privatization after only one
company was deemed eligible to make an offer for the
facility’s 25-year contract.
Besides
delaying the planned upgrade of one of the country’s
oldest ports, the decision contradicts earlier official
announcements indicating that the bidding process will
still continue even with just one bidder, as indicated
by the Government Procurement Act (Republic Act 9184).
Nonetheless, a resolution endorsed Tuesday by the
Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) maintained that the
joint venture, to be created by Harbour Centre Port
Terminals Inc. and Metro Pacific Investments Corp., will
still be allowed to bid.
PPA
General Manager Oscar M. Sevilla told reporters after a
meeting Tuesday that the agency needs to start from step
one of the bidding process—which is to invite more
interested companies—to get the best possible tariff
rates.
According to Sevilla, the agency needs at least two
bidders so that it can decide which among the companies
will be offering lower tariff rates. He added that the
PPA will only be collecting an additional 10 percent of
the prospective harbor operator’s cargo handling
revenue.
“We need
at least two or more bidders in order to get the best
tariff possible. How can we do that if we only have one
bidder?” Sevilla said.
At the
same time, the port official said that the terms of
reference of the privatization—a document that has yet
to be publicly disclosed—was amended to include that the
bidding can only proceed with at least two bidders.
These
new provisions have long been sought by the National
Economic and Development Authority (Neda), the
Philippines’ socioeconomic planning body, and the
Department of Finance, with hopes of lowering the
country’s shipping costs without necessarily eroding the
port agency’s finances.
Meanwhile, PPA assistant general manager for special
projects Raul T. Santos said that no new bidding
schedule has yet been set, although the agency intends
to privatize the harbor within the year.
The
agency’s old schedule indicates that opening of bids
should be undertaken October 18.
Port
officials also admitted that Asian Terminals Inc. (ATI)
failed to qualify to bid for the harbor on July 2,
although it can still submit its requirements upon
release of the new schedule.
ATI, a
publicly listed firm and the current operator of the
Manila South Harbor, failed to submit a waiver document,
which would have given the government immunity from suit
as far as the bidding process is concerned. Its shares
closed at P4.80 during Tuesday’s trading at the
Philippine Stock Exchange, unchanged from the previous
session.
For
weeks, the port agency has been unusually quiet about
the results of the eligibility check of three previous
companies interested in running the Manila North
Harbor—ATI, Harbour Centre and Metro Pacific.
Last
week, it had informed Harbour Centre, the operator of a
private Manila terminal, that the bidding process has
been suspended until further notice.
Based on
earlier estimates, upgrading the North Harbor to
world-class standards requires at least P10 billion.
Among the facilities to be transferred to a private
operator are the port’s container terminal, general
cargo terminal and the passenger terminal complex, which
will be considered as one operational area. |
