P100-B tollroad projects proposed

Two unsolicited tollroad projects valued at more than  P100 billion have been proposed to ease road congestion in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

The projects were the 102-kilometer Manila to Quezon Expressway and the 17.7-km Manila to Taguig Expressway. The latter was submitted by the group that built the Metro Manila Skyway project.

The projects would be evaluated by the Department of Public Works and Highways.

According to the department, the Manila-Quezon expressway proposal covered the design, finance, construction, operation and maintenance of a tollroad that would cross Laguna de Bay and link Pasig City and Candelaria, Quezon.

The P66.7-billion project, proposed by Grand Metro Manila Gateway Co. Inc., was aimed at alleviating traffic at the South Luzon Expressway. The project is also expected to boost development in Southern Tagalog areas, the DPWH said.

The proposed project would have interchanges at C5 extension, Binangonan, Pililla, Jala Jala, Pila, San Pablo, Dolores and Candelaria.

The second unsolicited proposal was an almost P50-billion project that would rise “mostly along the Pasig River” and would connect Rizal province through Pasig, Makati and Manila.

Its central feature was to link San Miguel Corp.’s Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3, a North Luzon Expressway and SLEx “connector road” which was due for completion by 2017 or 2018, and the Metro Manila Expressway C-6.

The C-6  project from Skyway/ Food Terminal Inc. in Taguig to Batasan Complex in Quezon City will be finished by 2020, the DPWH said.

The Manila-Taguig Expressway was proposed by Indonesia’s P.T. Citra Persada Infrastruktur, part of the group that built the Skyway, and CLGP Philippine Holdings Inc.

The proposals were made as President Duterte signaled his administration would welcome unsolicited bids. These were discouraged during the Aquino administration, which had a well-known bias against unsolicited projects.

The projects would still need to undergo various government approvals, including Mr. Duterte’s go-signal.

Projects pursued under the unsolicited mode would need to undergo a competitive challenge. Under this format, the government selects the project and bidders are invited to challenge the proponent.

In case a superior bid is made, the project proponent is allowed to match the rival offer and be  declared the winner.

Other unsolicited proposals have surfaced since the Duterte administration assumed power in July last year.

These include SMC’s 2,000-hectare airport proposal in Bulakan, Bulacan province near Manila Bay and a 2,500-hectare airport, seaport and industrial zone reclamation project in offshore Cavite made by the groups of Wilson Tieng and Henry Sy Sr. –Miguel R. Camus