DPWH to bid out ₱62 Billion / $1.44 Billion Dollars 3 toll road projects after Cavite-Laguna Expressway – Luzon Philippines

 

The Department of Works and Highways (DPWH) said it is preparing for three expressway projects that it will bid out by middle of 2014.

 

Undersecretary Rafael Yabut identified the three as

• Laguna Lakeshore Expressway Dike (₱36.74 billion / $854 Million USD)
• Central Luzon Link Expressway Phase1 (₱14.9 billion / $346.3 Million USD)
• Calamba-Los Baños Expressway. (₱10.38 billion / $241.23 Million USD)

 

The ₱36.74 billion Laguna Lakeshore Expressway Dike involves the construction of a 41.54-kilometer four-lane road dike, including bridges, pumping stations and ancillary flood gates.

 

The road starts from Bicutan, Taguig, connecting to the proposed C-6 Expressway Road Project. It will traverse Taguig, Parañaque, Muntinlupa in Metro Manila and the Laguna towns of Los Baños, Biñan, Sta. Rosa, and Cabuyao.

 

"The project is a multi-purpose road, not only expressway. There's a reclamation part for property development. That's [the] incentives for those going to bid," Yabut said.

 

He said DPWH is finalizing the feasibility study for submission to the National Economic and Development Authority come December.

 

"Our indicative target to bid the project is by middle of next year," Yabut said.

 

The DPWH will also bid out the ₱14.9 billion Central Luzon Link Expressway Phase 1. The project involves the construction of a 30.7-kilometer four-lane road that will diverge from the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway 2.5 kilometers north of the Luisita Interchange and  traverse Central Luzon in the east-west direction, then pass Cabanatuan City, and end at San Jose City, Nueva Ecija.

 

The government will tap foreign aid – also called official development assistance (ODA) – to finance the project, while the operations and maintenance would be packaged under the public-private partnership (PPP) scheme.

Lastly, the ₱10.38 billion Calamba-Los Banos Toll Expressway, which involves the construction of a 14.72-kilometer six-lane road that starts at SLEX Extension and go around Laguna de Bay to converge with a national road at Bay, Laguna.

 

Earlier, the DPWH received four pre-qualification documents for the ₱35.42 billion Cavite Laguna Expressway Project. The project involves the financing, design, construction, operation and maintenance of a four-lane, 47-kilometer closed-system toll expressway connecting the Cavite Expressway (CAVITEX) and the Southern Luzon Expressway (SLEX).

 

The four groups are as follows:

 

• Alloy MTD Philippines Inc, a Malaysian company;
• Team Orion, which is composed of AC Infrastructure Holdings Inc, Aboitiz Land Inc, Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings Philippines, Bouygues Travaux, Egis Road Operations and Korea Expressway Corp;
• MPCALA Holdings Inc, which is led by Metro Pacific Development Corp; and
•  Optimal Infrastructure Development Inc, which is led by San Miguel Corp.

 

The project will start from the CAVITEX in Kawit, Cavite and end at the SLEX-Mamplasan Interchange in Biñan, Laguna.

 

CALAX is the DPWH's third infrastructure project under the government's public-private partnership (PPP) program. The first project, the Daang Hari-SLEX, was awarded to the Ayala group, while the second, the NAIA Expressway, went to Optimal Infrastructure.

 

With report from Interaksyon.com

Continue reading

13 new American base firms look to expand in the Philippines

 

A delegation of 13 leading US companies organized by the US-ASEAN Business Council concluded a visit to the Philippines last week on a buoyant note.

 

"Many companies on the delegation expressed a desire to expand their investments in the Philippines, which is the best testament to their confidence in the country," said council president Alexander C Feldman.

 

"The council looks forward to returning to the Philippines in June 2014 with a group of American CEOs to help underscore the seriousness and depth of interest that US business has in this economic success story," he added.

 

The delegation completed the visit on Wednesday. The mission was aimed at building economic ties and supporting the Philippines' ongoing economic progress.

 

The members were impressed with the successful reforms undertaken by the Benigno Aquino government.

 

"We applaud the steps the Aquino administration is taking to generate positive economic performance, and we look forward to working together to ensure that the economic expansion will continue," said the council's Philippines Committee chair, Philip Vaughn. "These steps will no doubt lead to greater investment opportunities for US companies in the Philippines."

 

Feldman said the Philippines was currently one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, and American companies were impressed with macroeconomic reforms that had been executed thus far.

 

"The business environment has improved greatly through the leadership of President Aquino and his administration's focus on key macroeconomic reforms and good governance.

 

This progress is generating results as evidenced by the recent promotion of the Philippines to investment grade by Moody's Investors Service, as well as improvements in the world ranking of the Philippines in various surveys by the World Economic Forum, the Heritage Foundation and Transparency International," he added. - The Nation

Continue reading