THE proponent of the Cebu-Cordova Bridge project signed yesterday a joint venture agreement (JVA) with Cebu City and Cordova for the implementation of the P27.9-billion toll facility.
The joint venture company can now start securing requirements from national government agencies and meeting other conditions.
Metro Pacific Tollways Development Corp. (MPTDC) President Rodrigo Franco and Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama signed the deal past 4 p.m. in City Hall’s Social Hall yesterday.
Cordova Mayor Adelino Sitoy and MPTDC signed the agreement an hour earlier in the same venue.
“We are very happy that the contract was finally signed. After this, we will be able to secure the remaining conditions for the effectivity of the contract,” said Franco when interviewed.
MPTDC can now seek approval from the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) for the P50 to P70 fee they plan to collect from those who will use the bridge, the third one between mainland Cebu and Mactan Island.
Franco said they will also work on the toll concession agreement and submit it to the TRB.
MPTDC also needs approval from the Philippine Reclamation Authority, the Coast Guard and the Philippine Ports Authority for the project.
They need to get an environmental compliance certificate (ECC) from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the approval of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, since the area where the bridge will be constructed is within the flight path of planes leaving or landing at the Mactan Cebu International Airport.
Particularly for the ECC, Franco said they have been consulting several concerned stakeholders since it is one of the requirements.
Details
The ECC sets conditions in order to limit a project’s impact on the environment.
Franco further said they will now be able to start working on the specific engineering details for the bridge.
At present, what MPTDC has is the preliminary design of the facility.
He said they will be getting a contractor who will prepare the project details and who will eventually work on the building of the bridge.
They will be bidding out the project toward the fourth quarter of this year.
The JVA was supposed to be signed yesterday morning but Cebu City officials wanted some concerns addressed.
Rama and the City Legal Office asked if the project would not be covered by the public works ban imposed by the Commission on Elections in relation to the May 9 polls.
Election ban
They also would’ve wanted that a parcellary survey be submitted before the agreement was signed. The survey will identify what public lands in the city will be affected by the construction of the bridge.
Under the JVA, the resources of the City as well as that of Cordova will be their contributions, particularly the public lands that will be used for the bridge.
But Franco said the project is not covered by the ban since they are not yet actually building it.
“We are just signing the agreement. So evidently, it wouldn’t be covered by the election ban because there is no public works yet,” he said.
For the survey, Franco explained to the city officials they cannot submit it yet since they can only do it once the bridge’s detailed design is completed.
He said, though, that they submitted yesterday their right-of-way inventory. The parcellary survey is meant to validate that inventory.
“In the end, we were able to clarify things to everyone’s satisfaction,” Franco said.
Review
The mayor signed the JVA yesterday, with with some conditions.
MPTDC should secure a certificate of exemption from Comelec for the project and submit to the City Government along with the final parcellary survey.
A continuing legal review by the City Legal Office should also be in place, particularly for the concession agreement once it the TRB approves it.
He also required a periodic review of the revenue sharing between the parties for possible increases.
Based on the agreement, the City and Cordova will each receive a one-percent share of the gross revenue from the facility.
Proponents of the 8.25-kilometer bridge intend to start construction in late 2017 or early 2018 and finish the project by 2020.