HONG KONG—The government no longer has the luxury of time in its bid to find a private-sector partner for the P171-billion North-South Railway South Line project, with the election ban drawing near.
With this, First Pacific Ltd. Co. Managing Director Manuel V. Pangilinan said his company is hopeful that the Philippine government will be able to fast-track the bidding process. “We have no idea as to the timing, whether, indeed, they can bid it out by the time of the election ban,” he said over dinner late Friday here.
Just recently, the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) decided to extend the deadline for the submission of qualification documents for the project’s bidding to December 1. Bidders were supposed to forward
the requirements last week.
“We don’t know whether there is still time,” said Pangilinan,
who chairs Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC). “It is beyond our control.”
The law prohibits agencies from pursuing auctions for infrastructure deals 45 days before and after a local election. Ongoing auctions, however, will not be affected by the ban.
Filipino companies have expressed interest in the project, but only MPIC and San Miguel Corp. have so far purchased bid documents for the deal.