DOTC to undertake a new bidding process for the PhP 60 billion LRT1 extension project

The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) will now undertake a new bidding process for the PhP 60 billion Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT1) extension project in the fourth quarter of 2013. The move comes after the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) of DOTC and the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) jointly issued a resolution declaring the bidding of the LRT1 Cavite extension project, held on August 15, 2013, a failure. Only one of the four pre-qualified bidders submitted conditional technical and financial proposals. The other three bidders are reported to have withdrawn from the process owing to concerns related to who would bear the real estate taxes. The BAC is likely to re-evaluate the existing terms to address the commercial issues raised by the pre-qualified bidders.