The operations and maintenance contract for the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 2 has attracted two more investors, one being the operator of the French capital’s train systems.
Transportation Spokesman Michael Arthur C. Sagcal said Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens (RATP) Development and DMCI Holdings Inc. have bought bid documents for the key infrastructure contract.
The French firm operates Paris Metro, which serves roughly 5 million train riders per day through 16 train lines with 303 stations.
This brought the number of interested groups for the project to six, including San Miguel Corp., GT Capital Holdings Inc., Marubeni Corp. and the Light Rail Manila Consortium (LRMC), a joint venture between Ayala Corp. and Metro Pacific Investments Corp.
LRMC earlier tapped RATP Development as its technical partner for the P65-billion LRT Line 1 Cavite Extension Project.
Deadline for the submission of bids for the prequalification stage is on November 20.
Only those who passed the prequalification stage will be allowed to join the bidding, which is slated sometime in the second quarter of 2015.
The winning bidder will take over the operations and maintenance of all 11 stations of the existing line, as well as the 4.19-kilometer LRT 2 Masinag Extension, for about 10 to 15 years.
Construction of the P9.7-billion Masinag Extension will start by January next year. It will take the government roughly a year-and-a-half to fully complete the construction of the railway extension. It will be fully operational by that same time frame. When constructed, the new facility will add 4.14 km to the existing line, which is the youngest of the four train systems in the country.
Two additional stations will be constructed: the Emerald Station in front of Robinsons Place Metro East in Cainta, Rizal; and the Masinag Station at the Masinag Junction in Antipolo City. The line will serve an additional 130,000 train commuters from the current number of 240,000.
The 13.8-km-long LRT Line 2 traverses the cities of Manila, San Juan, Quezon, Marikina and Pasig. The government is also currently procuring a new maintenance provider for the line. The state has earmarked P1.3 billion for the upkeep deal.
Aside from these ventures, the transportation agency is studying the possibility of extending the LRT Line 2 westward to the Port Area in Manila.
The Japan International Cooperation Agency is aiding the government in evaluating the feasibility of the plan. Included in the review is the mode of project finance: whether it would be through a foreign grant or be included in the pipeline of public-private partnership deals.