The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) will auction off major two port development and management projects within the year, as it did not receive any “renewed unsolicited proposals” for the said deals.
In an interview on Wednesday, PPA General Manager Jay Daniel Santiago said the agency is gunning to bid out the contracts for the modernization and operations of the Iloilo Commercial Port Complex (ICPC) and the Port of General Santos.
“We intend to bid them out in the middle of the year. We have not received any renewed unsolicited proposals for the two. I think that is a sign that we can proceed with bidding them out,” he said. “Ideally, we can start before the end of June.”
Santiago said the port authority has started crafting the terms of reference for the two deals, noting that they will involve “full terminal leasing, operations, management, land side and water side improvements, and expansion.” “We’ve done our homework already on the ICPC and General Santos. We just have to make sure that we update the data and make sure that the data and assumptions are reflective of the current situation now and any changes in assumptions moving forward,” he said.
International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI), a listed company controlled by billionaire Enrique K. Razon, initially proposed to develop the ICPC in 2019, but later on withdrew from the race due to the slow movement of its offer.
Kudos Trucking Corp., meanwhile, submitted an unsolicited proposal for the development of the port in General Santos in 2018.
The PPA offered a “faster” option for these groups through the Port Terminal Management Regulatory Framework, which has helped the port authority fast-track some of its infrastructure projects.