Thursday, January 03, 2008 Subic-Clark road operations, maintenance contract signed
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) and a joint venture of three corporations have already agreed upon the contract for the operations and maintenance of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx).
In a press statement issued before the holidays, BCDA president Narciso Abaya said the contract has been awarded to the joint venture group composed of First Philippine Holdings Corporation (FPHC), Egis Road Operation, and Tollways Management Corporation (TMC).
The terms of the contract for operation and maintenance will be for a period of six months, renewable for a maximum of another six months, he said.
The services include functional requirements for the efficient operation of the toll road, such as toll road collection, traffic safety and security management, toll road maintenance, including greenery and landscaping, management services, and all necessary support services.
Those who signed the contract were Abaya, TMC president Anthony Mabasa, FPHC president and COO Elpidio Ibanez, and Egis operations manager Marc Obrowski.
The contract signing was witnessed by BCDA chairman Aloysius Santos; SCTEx program director Isaac Puno III; Manila North Tollways Corporation president Jose "Ping" de Jesus; Rod Franco; Jean Claude Neumann of Egis Road; First Philippine Holdings Corporation representatives Ardel Fadri, Beng Relatado, Esmer Amistad, Faye Paredes, and Jojo Marigomen and TMC representatives Nathanael Fernandez, Roberto Bontia, Nicolas Manalo, Lea Wong, Charly Espanola, and Westerly Dionisio.
In September 2007, the BCDA issued letters of invitation to four short-listed companies to submit proposals for the selection of an interim service provider for the initial operation and maintenance of SCTEx.
Only the joint venture of FPHC, Egis Road and TMC submitted eligibility documents and financial proposals, which were subsequently declared Single Calculated Responsive Bid.
The other bidders were Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC), Africa Israel Investment (Phils.) Inc., Derech Eretz Highway Management Joint Venture, UEM-Mara Philippines Corporation (UMPC)/PEA Tollways Corporation (PEATC), and Philippine National Construction Company.
Subsequently, on November 6, 2007, the BCDA issued a notice of award to the winning group and scheduled the signing of the contract for interim operations and maintenance of SCTEx last December 20 at the BCDA Corporate Center, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City.
Operations and maintenance is the final phase in the implementation of the SCTEx project.
The SCTEx, which is 93.77 kilometers long, is composed of two segments: the 50.5-km Subic-Clark segment (Package 1), and the 43.27-m Clark-Tarlac segment (Package 2).
Touted as the country's longest expressway, SCTEx is targeted for commercial operations in March 2008. (ABL)
