By Lorenz S. Marasigan & Cai U. Ordinario
Megawide Construction Corp., Ayala Land Inc., Datem Inc. and Filinvest Land Inc. are expected to submit their bids for the P4-billion Integrated Transport System (ITS) South Terminal deal today, July 31.
“This project will enable commuters to have seamless transfers from one mode of transport to another. Creating a central terminal for all types of public transportation will not only give access to our daily commuters, but also help those who are unfamiliar with public-utility vehicle [PUV] routes and services,” Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio A. Abaya said on Thursday.
The winning bidder will take care of the design, construction and operations and maintenance of the terminal for a concession period of 35 years.
The multibillion-peso project covers the construction of a terminal within a 4.7-hectare lot inside the Food Terminal Inc. Compound in Taguig City. It will connect passengers coming from the South, specifically the Batangas and Laguna area, to other PUVs that are serving inner Metro Manila.
It also covers the construction of arrival and departure bays, public information systems, ticketing, and baggage facilities and park-ride facilities.
The transport agency aims to award the project in the third quarter in order to begin construction by the second quarter of 2016, while the terminal is set to open in December 2017. The Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center, meanwhile, disclosed on Thursday that the government is now looking for bidders for the Road Transport Information Technology (IT) Infrastructure Project (Phase II).
The Department of Transportation and Communications and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) will be inviting interested firms to prequalify and bid for the project.
The P298-million PPP project will upgrade the existing IT infrastructure of the LTFRB. It intends to computerize the agency’s manual processes, as well as the development, supply and operationalization of its network infrastructure (hardware) and database and applications (software).
“The computerization efforts will help clean up existing data of the LTFRB, enhance data collection and processing. It is also envisioned to effect integration within the LTFRB and among related agencies,” the PPP Center said. “This will lessen the processing time for its transactions, promote and improve access to public information and provide channels for feedback.”