MODERNIZING the busiest seaport in Mindanao may take a few years to complete, so the government is jump-starting the contract’s procurement as early as now, with hopes of awarding the project by the fourth quarter this year.
A document from the transportation department showed that the awarding for the P17-billion Davao Sasa Port Modernization has been set for December, the same month when the technical and financial proposals of bidders shall be opened.
It will take about two weeks, according to an indicative timeline, for the agency to award the deal to its winning concessionaire.
Interested parties have until June 30 to submit their prequalification documents to participate in the actual tender process. Qualified bidders will be informed by July 8. A month later, the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) will then meet the bidders separately to hear their side on issues pertaining to the project.
But as early as now, the deal has drawn criticisms from at least one port operator. Hijo Resources Corp.’s chief executive earlier said the project is too expensive at P17 billion. The project will also result in competition against privately owned terminals in Mindanao.
Hijo Resources is the joint-venture partner of International Container Terminal Services Inc. in developing the Hijo Port in Davao del Norte. The Razon-led company earlier said it is not interested in the Davao Sasa contract.
Based on the contract’s invitation to prequalify to bid, the deal involves the “modernization of the existing port and the establishment of dedicated container-handling facilities with an initial design capacity of 1,900 container ground slots to a minimum of 2,7000 container ground slots, comprising of the construction of a new apron; development of a linear quay; expansion of the back-up area; provision of container yards; warehouses; and the installation of appropriate container-handling equipment throughout a 30-year concession period.”
Currently, the Davao Sasa wharf has a total area of 18.1 hectares, with a quay length of 1,093 meters and a berth dept of -11 meters. The 4.15-hectare container-yard size houses 864 ground slots. It has a reefer yard of 0.2 hectares, and the largest vessel accommodated at the port has a capacity of 800 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs). It has an annual capacity of 550,000 TEUs.
Davao City serves as the main trade, commerce and industry center of Mindanao, and is known to be one of the fastest-growing cities in the Philippines.
The government has awarded nine contracts since the infrastructure program’s inception in 2010, namely:
• the P1.96-billion Daang Hari-South Luzon Expressway project, bagged by Ayala Corp. in 2011;
• the P16.42-billion first phase of the PPP School Infrastructure Program (PSIP), which went in 2012 to the consortium formed by Megawide Construction Corp. and Citicore Holdings Investment Inc., as well as the BF Corp.-Riverbanks Development Corp. Consortium;
• the P15.68-billion Ninoy Aquino International Airport expressway, given to San Miguel Corp. unit Vertex Tollways Development Inc. in 2013;
• the P3.86-billion PSIP Phase II contract, partially awarded in 2013 to Megawide and the BSP & Co. Inc.-Vicente T. Lao Construction consortium;
• the P5.69-billion Modernization of the Philippine Orthopedic Center project, which went to the Megawide-World Citi Inc. consortium, also in 2013.
• the P1.72-billion Automatic Fare Collection System contract, awarded to the AF Consortium of Ayala and Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) in 2014;
• the P17.5-billion Mactan Cebu International Airport New Passenger Terminal project, bagged in 2014 by Megawide Construction Corp. and GMR Infrastructures Ltd.;
• the P64.9-billion Light Rail Transit Line 1 Cavite Extension deal, awarded in 2014 to Light Rail Manila Consortium of Ayala and MPIC; and
• the P2.5-billion Integrated Transport System Southwest Terminal, won by Megawide and partner Walter Mart Property Management Inc. of billionaire and retail magnate Henry Sy in January.
The state intends to plug the gap in the country’s transportation facility in the next decade by rolling out massive infrastructure projects that are seen to spur economic growth.