THE Department of Transportation (DoTr) will once more bid out the contract to build the common station for Metro Manila’s commuter railways, with a public-private partnership (PPP) under consideration.
“We are looking for other modes of procurement. We can do this through bidding, but we can also do this via PPP. We are now assessing how we can do this,” Transportation Secretary Vivencio B. Dizon told reporters on Tuesday.
Last week, the DoTr issued a notice of termination to the contractors of the Unified Grand Central Station at North Avenue-EDSA, Quezon City, also known as the common station for the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) and Light Rail Transit (LRT) lines and the Metro Manila Subway.
The contractors — BF Corp. and Foresight Development and Surveying Co. (BFC-FDSC) were terminated due to excessive delays, the DoTr said.
“For now, we are looking at PPP because it would be the fastest,” Mr. Dizon said.
The BFC-FDSC consortium signed a P2.8-billion agreement with the government in 2019 for the construction of Area A of the Unified Grand Central Station project.
The project aims to link Metro Manila’s main commuter rail lines, including LRT-1, MRT-3, MRT-7, and eventually the Metro Manila Subway.
The project was initially targeted for completion in the first quarter of 2021. It was designed to have three sections, each built separately: Area A by BFC-FDSC, Area B by Ayala Corp., and Area C by San Miguel Corp., the concessionaire for the MRT-7 project.
Mr. Dizon said the DoTr is now hoping to complete the common station project by early 2027, in line with the target completion of MRT-7 which is projected to start full operations by 2026.
Foresight Development and Surveying Co. was formerly registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 25, 1997, as Foresight Surveying Co., with a primary focus on surveying and related geodetic engineering services.
Meanwhile, BF Corp., founded by former Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chairman Bayani F. Fernando, is primarily engaged in general construction and engineering.
The DoTr is also studying the possibility of imposing penalties against the joint-venture company over the delays, Mr. Dizon said, adding that the department is not yet studying the possibility of filing charges against the contractor.
“What we are discussing right now are the financial obligations,” Mr. Dizon said.
Asked to comment, the BF-FSDC consortium said it had complied with its contractual obligations and delivered all the engineering work for the project, but experienced payment delays.
“The undue and habitual delays in payment of quality work forced BF-FSDC consortium to stop work, since 2024; otherwise, its financial standing and quality reputation would be severely impaired… The work stoppage was solely due to DoTr’s prolonged non-payment of completed work,” it said. — Ashley Erika O. Jose