Only Japanese firms may bid for LRT-1 train supply deal – DOTC 

(Updated 4:01 p.m.) The government is acquiring 120 brand new coaches for the Baclaran-Roosevelt line of the Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1) from Japanese-led companies.

 

The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) and Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) are bidding the project in time for the extension of the LRT-1 to Bacoor, Cavite. 

 

"With the upcoming 11.8-kilometer extension of LRT-1 comes the need to add more trains to the system. This will enable us to meet demand, and to maintain the right headway between arriving trains at the stations," DOTC Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya said Friday.

 

The new light rail vehicles will form into 30 sets of four-car trains. The additional coaches are expected to allow LRT-1 to accommodate about 750,000 passengers daily. Last year, the LRT-1 conveyed more than 470,000 commuters a day.

 

Only Japanese-led companies or groups may bid for the project, which will be funded through a loan extended by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). 

 

The government cannot disclose an indicative project cost under the Japanese agency's procurement rules, DOTC spokesperson Migs Sagcal told GMA News Online.

 

Prospective bidders may purchase the bid documents starting Friday. The government has scheduled an October 30 pre-bid conference. The offers will be submitted and opened on December 14.

 

The project covers the technical design of the coaches, procurement of materials required for manufacturing, and compliance with technical specifications through testing. 

 

The winning bidder will have three years to complete the delivery of the new light rail vehicles in two tranches – the first batch in 2017, the second in 2018, according to the DOTC.

 

The new coaches should arrive before the Light Rail Manila Consortium (LRMC)completes the construction of the Cavite extension over the next 4.5 years and make the entire line operational by the fourth quarter of 2020.

 

Last month, the LRTA turned over the operation and maintenance of the existing LRT-1 system to the consortium as spelled out in a 32-year public-private partnership concession agreement. 

 

The consortium is made up of Metro Pacific Investments Corp.'s Metro Pacific Light Rail Corp., Ayala Corp.'s  AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp. and Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings (Philippines) PTE Ltd. 

 

The overall regulation of the mass rail system rests on the LRTA and DOTC. – VS, GMA News