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JAPANESE lender has asked a government agency to collect
toll fees on all vehicles using an access road and a
fly-over leading to the Batangas Port.
In a
report, the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) said that
the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC),
which has funded the P336-million thoroughfare, has
“recommended” that the govern- ment put forth a
toll-mechanism structure before it is subsumed by the
Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). The said
agency is primarily responsible for the maintenance of
the country’s road networks.
As a
result, an agreement between the DPWH and the port
authority was postponed owing to JBIC’s recommendation.
The
infrastructure project, which was nearly complete as of
October, came from the JBIC’s official development
assistance un-der the 22nd Yen-loan Package to the
Philippine government.
“The
recommendation is under the review of the PPA’s
operations office,” the report said.
Meanwhile, all three major packages of Phase II of the
Batangas Port development have been completed, save for
the provisions covering cargo- handling equipment. The
first package, worth P5.7 billion, covers marine and
civil works. The P126-million worth Package 2 was
completed in September 2001 and involves supply and
installation of passenger boarding bridges. The third
package involves the construction of port access road
and fly-over.
According to the plan, the PPA will privatize the
facility once the cargo- handling equipment in Batangas
are installed by the end of the year.
However,
the plan’s approval remains pending after the Supreme
Court ruled that landowners whose properties were
expropriated by the terminal should be given higher
compensation. The ruling indicated that landowners
should be paid P5,500 per hectare instead of P500.
Earlier,
PPA General Manager Oscar M. Sevilla said that the
agency is still awaiting the letter of conformity of the
eligible bidders International Container Terminal
Services Inc. (ICTSI) and Asian Terminals Inc. (ATI)
before the bidding.
“Whatever happens, even if the case is not finished,
with the facilities in place by the end of the year, we
will proceed with the bidding. We will put an escape
clause on the contract in case the Supreme Court decides
against us,” Sevilla said. “We are just waiting for the
formal reply [from ICTSI and ATI] if they are amenable
to the new terms of reference.”
He added
that the government should make a move before the year
ends or the equipment would become idle. If the two
companies refuse the new terms, the government could
either ask ATI, which already operates the terminal on a
temporary basis, to continue its; operations until the
issue is resolved or the PPA itself will have to operate
the port. |
