Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said 11 companies bought bid documents for the bulk water supply project of the provincial government.
The bid documents are worth P150,000 for each prospective bidder.
The bidding is set in June this year, Lacson said.
The companies whose representatives attended the pre-bid conference on Wednesday, February 7, were Manila Water Philippine Ventures, Inc., Balibago Waterworks System, Inc.,First Balfour Inc., PrimeWater Resources Inc., BW Water, Inc., Aboitiz Infracapital, Inc., Primewater Infrastructure Corp., MacroAsia Properties Development Corporation, Maynilad Water Services Inc., San Miguel Holdings Corp. and M.E. Sicat Construction, Inc.
"I hope issues on their mind are clarified and we are always open to hear them out. We're hoping for the successful bidding that will commence in June this year," Lacson said.
He added, "Hoping that they will qualify. That's why we have this pre-bid conference because technical qualifications have been spelled out and one of the qualifications is that they must have had a water project of at least 20 million liters per day."
"Capitol is looking for a company with a track record, number of projects that are similarly situated in other parts of the country, and the volume and capacity of their water plants and the standing of their company," Provincial Administrator Atty. Rayfrando Diaz II said earlier.
The project, officially named the Negros Occidental Bulk Water Supply Project (NBWSP), involves the financing, engineering design, construction, operation, and maintenance of a bulk water supply system with a minimum capacity of 34.5 million liters/day (MLD) to be sourced from the Imbang River and/or Malogo River, according to the official website of the provincial government.
It is expected to supply treated bulk water to six water service providers in the Negros Occidental: the cities of Bacolod, Silay, Talisay, and Victorias, and the municipalities of Manapla, and EB Magalona.
The project is under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) project.
Diaz said the project could be awarded to more than one investor because it is “really a big project.”*