IT will take the government eight years, at the least, to construct the P122.8-billion Laguna Lakeshore Expressway Dike, the largest key infrastructure deal to be rolled out to date.
An indicative timeline showed that the facility will start its commercial operations by 2022 with the concession period ending 2051.
The bid submission deadline is scheduled on July 6, 2015, while the notice of award is set to be issued on August 5 the same year.
The government has so far garnered an encouraging number of interested investors for the deal.
Fourteen potential investors bought bidding documents since the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) launched the largest key infrastructure deal of the Aquino administration to date.
The list includes prominent Filipono firms, like Ayala Land Inc., Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., Megaworld Corp., GT Capital Holdings Inc., San Miguel Corp. and Macquarie Capital Securities.
A number of foreign investors are also interested in the contract, including companies from France and Australia, among others.
The public works agency launched the tender of the expressway project in August, calling on interested investors to vie for the multibillion-peso deal which aims to ease traffic flow and facilitate faster transport of goods and services to and from Metro Manila, Laguna, Batangas and Quezon.
A two-stage auction system will be implemented for the auction, meaning bidders must first prequalify on minimum legal, technical, and financial requirements as set by the implementing agency. Only prequalified bidders will be permitted to submit their technical and financial offers for the contract.
Documents to prequalify on financial and technical proposals should be submitted on or before October 16.
The winning bidder will start designing and constructing the expressway dike by April next year. The thoroughfare should be commercially operational by 2022.
The project involves the construction of a 47-kilometer flood control dike—on top of which will be a six-lane expressway—on an offshore alignment 500 meters away from the western shoreline of Laguna Lake. It includes interchanges, bridges, floodgates, and pumps, from Taguig to Los Baños in Laguna.
It also involves the reclamation of 700 hectares of raw land adjoining the expressway dike.
The highway development project aims to create opportunities for developing new business and residential area on the reclaimed land to enhance regional and urban development. It also seeks to mitigate flooding and improve the living conditions in the western coastal communities along Laguna Lake, while providing a high-standard highway that will speed up traffic between the southern parts the metropolis and the province of Laguna.
The Philippines, now a $270-billion economy, is lagging behind its neighbors in terms of modernizing its transportation facilities. The government plans to address that backlog by rolling out massive infrastructure projects which are seen to further spur economic growth.
The public works department has so far awarded two key infrastructure projects, namely P1.96-billion Daang Hari-South Luzon Expressway Project bagged by Ayala Corp. in 2011; and the P15.68-billion Ninoy Aquino International Airport expressway, given to San Miguel Corp. unit Vertex Tollways Development Inc. in 2013.
At least five projects under flagship program of the Aquino government should be completed before President Aquino steps down from office in 2016. The government decided to trim the target list from seven to five due to delays brought about by legal hurdles during procurement.
The list originally included the P5.69-billion Modernization of the Philippine Orthopedic Center Project and the P17.5-billion Mactan Cebu International Airport New Passenger Terminal Project. Both contracts were awarded to Megawide Construction Corp. and its respective partners.